The Human Contract
by Hitoko-sama
Summary: For Itachi's 25th birthday, Madara surprises him by taking him into the city for a present Itachi surely will never forget. Probably because this present is a doll that walks, talks, and will be whoever you desire it to be. YAOI! Uchihacest!
1. Chapter 1

**As promised I'm replacing 'What I Would Do For You' with another Uchihacest fic. Because I love Sasuke and Itachi, even if both of them are really starting to piss me off in the manga. So much anger they make me feel…Anyway, that has nothing to do with this. So everyone, please enjoy the first chapter of…THE HUMAN CONTRACT. Regular PV  
>-<strong>

**You're an obsession  
>You're my obsession<br>Who do you want me to be  
>To make you sleep with me?<strong>

**(Obsession-Animotion)**

Itachi stared blankly as the meeting seemed to drag on and on. It was actually becoming a difficult task to keep himself awake which was why his body guard, Kisame, was doing an excellent job of it by stabbing him in the thigh with a safety pin whenever his eyelids drooped. And no one seemed to notice what was going on underneath the table, partially due to the fact that Itachi was able to contain the reaction of when the pointed metal dug through his pants and into his skin; he had yet to jump or jerk. And the other reason why was because everyone was trying their best to stay awake as well.

The man giving the presentation in front of him was quite possibly the biggest blow hard he had ever had the misfortune of meeting, Orochimaru. He was the CEO of Otogakure Corporation; an up and coming computer company. Itachi would have been far more obliged to keep himself awake if this man wasn't so horribly boring; his presentation was packed with useless information and his voice was so raspy and weird that it reminded him of a snake. Earning him the nickname Snake Bastard around the office. Itachi's eye twitched in annoyance when he felt the man's gaze taking him in. Orochimaru was trying too hard to impress him and failing to do so. It was actually putting him off and making him not want to merge with Oto Corps more and more with each passing second.

Being the current CEO of Akatsuki Corps, Itachi had to be at every meeting, listening, watching, deciding. It was a real snore, but he knew it was what he had signed up for when he came work at his uncle's company. Speaking of his uncle, Itachi was currently very angry at him. Madara was the Chairman of the Board and should have been attending this meeting as well, but had shirked it, yet again. It always seem to be like this. As long as Itachi was there Madara almost found that he didn't need to show up. It irked Itachi to no end; he would actually like to go through a day where he didn't have to go to a meeting; have his uncle cover it for once.

The door swung open suddenly and loudly smacked into the wall next to it. Everyone was completely silent as Madara stuck his head in sheepishly and apologized to Orochimaru before sneaking to the back of the table where Itachi sat and took a seat next to his nephew. The younger Uchiha tilted his gaze toward Madara who was sitting quietly. He leaned in closer to Itachi with a slight frown on his face. "Been suffering through this the last half hour, huh?" Madara asked when he knew Orochimaru wasn't looking over at them. Even though Orochimaru was so boring it made them all want to die, they still had to pretend that he was interesting.

"Suffer is not a strong enough verb, Uncle." Itachi replied with a slight glare pointed towards Orochimaru; he didn't seem to notice it. "_OW!"_ The Uchiha muffled his pain by biting his lower lip. Itachi gave Kisame a quick side glance because of the particularly rough poke he had just received. He noticed that his body guard wasn't really paying attention; he was looking off to the side waiting about a minute before poking Itachi again. The Uchiha grabbed his wrist and the black man(1) stopped, looking over at his employer with a nervous grin. He retracted his arm and kept it at his side.

"So bad you're in pain eh?" Madara said biting back a laugh. He received a slight glare from Itachi as the older looked down at his watch. "Well, we only have to suffer through this ordeal for another fifteen minutes. Hn, I should have got here with five minutes left." They watched, blinking with boredom and within two minutes, Madara had already yawned six times. "This is terrible, Itachi. I had no idea…"

"Hn. You get used to it eventually. It's only made worse because I didn't get any sleep last night; I even took my medication and nothing happened." Itachi muttered as he covered his mouth with his hand so Orochimaru wouldn't see him chatting with his uncle. Though, he actually wanted to be caught. It would show that snake bastard that he wasn't as great as he thought he was.

"Did you have that dream again?" Itachi couldn't help but turn towards his uncle with a raised eyebrow and the older took that as a 'yes'. The younger turned back towards Orochimaru, shaking his head a little. He would have thought by now his uncle would have learned his sleeping habits. The dream he had would never go away; it had been plaguing him for twenty five years. "Maybe your birthday present can take your mind off of it. You have yet to get it from me…"

"Hn, don't you think I'm a little old to get birthday presents?"

Madara smirked then and patted Itachi on the shoulder. "You'll never be too old for anything Itachi. Besides, I insist you at least see what I have to offer you. You can always reject it if you really don't want it. It's called choices and unlike most of the family, I'm completely willing to give them to you."

Itachi shrugged in defeat. It wouldn't kill him to see what his uncle's present was; it may actually even be interesting or at least far better than last year's birthday when he bought Itachi a male stripper that popped out of cake. That was just annoying.

That was what Itachi found most interesting about Madara; the fact that he never acted as serious about anything, even though he was an Uchiha and a man of nearly fifty. His father, Fugaku, was the picture of stern seriousness, but Madara and Izuna, both Fugaku's brothers, seemed completely different. Tending to be more carefree; well Izuna was more carefree…

Itachi shook himself out of his thoughts; now was not the time to think of his family. He looked at the clock on the wall behind Orochimaru and saw that the presentation would be over in a matter of seconds; thirty-six to be exact. Itachi clenched his fists as he waited for the second hand to tick past the twelve and make the meeting over. It was much like waiting for school to end, slow, torturous, and almost painful.

Orochimaru ended his presentation a few seconds after the hand past twelve on the clock, making both Madara and Itachi sigh with relief as they got up from the table. They headed towards the door but were unceremoniously cut off by Orochimaru; Itachi mentally sighed, almost wanting to shove the man out of his way so he could exit.

"So Itachi, what did you think?" The Uchiha resisted the urge to roll his eyes and completely ram this bastard for wasting his time, but instead he kept his face blank, emotionless, and looked Orochimaru dead in the face.

"You've given me much to consider; we'll be in touch." Itachi said as he coolly slipped past Orochimaru and out into the hallway, Kisame and Madara following after him, trying not to laugh until they were out of earshot.

"Cold as usual my lovely nephew." Madara said trying to conceal another round of laughter. "Ah, that was a good laugh. I almost thought he was going to cry; that would have been great. We haven't had anyone cry because of Itachi since his last secretary spilled coffee on him. That was such a long time ago…"

"It was last week…" Kisame interjected and Itachi chuckled a little at the flush threatening to creep up his uncle's face. He punched Kisame in the shoulder and the black man started to scowl a little bit, folding his arms across his chest. Itachi stretched a little but felt a slight pain in his thigh and looked down, touching the area where Kisame had religiously poked him. He pulled back and found that he was bleeding; he tilted his gaze back towards Kisame who was whistling nonchalantly and looking away. The glare of his employer was too strong for Kisame and he actually felt himself start to sweat as he looked back at Itachi. "I'm sorry, I may have gotten a bit carried away…"

"Hn…A bit my ass…" Itachi muttered shaking his head. Madara chuckled a little before slinging his arm over Itachi's shoulder and steering him towards the entrance of the building. "Um, where are we going? Work is not over."

"Eh, all that we were supposed to do today was that meeting. Now is time for you and I to spend some quality uncle-nephew time together." Madara said as he pushed the door open, ushering Itachi out. Kisame followed behind them but was cut off by the older Uchiha who was smirking threateningly at him. "Sorry, Uchihas only." He turned away from the man and smiled at Itachi. "Follow me in your car, okay? We're heading back to my place!"  
>-<p>

There was something about Madara's mansion that always seemed to bug Itachi; there was such a vast hollowness about it. His uncle lived alone, except for his maids and butlers and most of them left for the night and came back in the morning. So after six in the evening, half the staff was gone. At eight another half dispersed, leaving only a fourth of the original staff, which consisted of twenty people.

But that wasn't why it seemed so empty. Madara had stopped decorating the rooms, leaving them mostly blank; a good portion of them were painted black and filled with nothing more than a couple pieces of furniture and books. But Itachi couldn't exactly condemn his uncle for it; not after the accident. Madara had never been the same after that.

Madara whistled a little bringing Itachi's attention to focus on his uncle who was handing him a drink. He took it and followed his uncle into the study; one of the only rooms that seemed as though someone used it. The fire was roaring, giving the room a more romantic glow as they entered. Itachi sat down on the loveseat across from Madara's favorite recliner; this had been one of Itachi's favorite rooms growing up. He had sat in that exact spot reading countless books by fire and lamp light, almost making them far more interesting to read. Now this room seemed dead to him, filled with memories of a much simpler time; a time where his thoughts were so clouded with guilt.

"So…What happened in your dream this time?" Madara asked as he looked into his drink, sipping at it a little before turning his attention back up to his nephew. "They seem to always change, don't you agree?"

Itachi stayed silent for a moment, taking a swig of whatever alcoholic beverage Madara had given him. He wasn't a big fan of drinking but it would do well to numb his thoughts, even if it was for just a little bit. He glanced over at his uncle, watching how Madara took him in with his gaze, analyzing him like he was nothing more than a poem in a literature class. "You seem to be the only one who cares about my dreams anymore, Madara."

"Oh boy, you're annoyed with me. You only call me Madara when you're upset with me…Why are you so sensitive about telling me? I've been there for you for so long now Itachi, come on, have a little trust will ya? Your obsession is consuming you and if you don't let it out, you'll probably go crazy."

The younger raised a skeptical eyebrow before rolling his eyes at his uncle. "It's not that I don't trust you, Madara, but this dream is one you don't want to hear." Itachi muttered as he took another sip, holding back the cringe that accompanied the flavor.

"Oh come now Itachi, just tell me already! I'm really not getting any younger."

Itachi had never been one to give in easily but the dream really had been bothering him all day; and it was dreams like the one he had last night that made him never want to sleep, ever again. If there was a way to keep himself awake without it killing him, he would do it. But, he really didn't want to tell Madara though, one aspect of the dream might set him off on his depression spiral. But it would be Madara's fault, right? He was the one who was practically begging for it. Itachi opened his mouth only to shut it again, deciding not to tell him. "Some other time, Uncle. I am not in the mood for it; I would actually much rather talk about something else or maybe see whatever it is that you wanted to give me for my birthday."

And just like that Madara dropped the subject and started smirking wickedly. There was almost a cruel look about his countenance as he stood up and ushered Itachi out of the room. They were half way to the front door before Itachi spoke. "Where exactly are we going?"

"The kind of present I got you, I can't keep at my house. But I assure you, it is something you will never forget; whether you love it or hate it." Madara muttered as he practically shoved Itachi out the door and into his car.

The younger Uchiha hated to be stuck in someone else's car; if he wanted to leave, he would have to wait for the other person to be ready. And his fuddy-duddy(2) uncle took his time with everything, even shopping for clothes, which took Itachi maybe an hour, would take Madara three or more. It was infuriatingly dull and made Itachi wish he had protested a little more but it was too late as soon as Madara got into the driver's seat.

Itachi leaned back, letting his uncle do as he pleased. It beat going back to his own house, he supposed. There was nothing there waiting for him besides his cat, Sharingan, but he had a feeling his cat was having one of his moody days where he didn't want to love Itachi, just scratch him and attack his feet as he passed by the bed. So Itachi figured that whatever Madara was doing was a good way to kill time.

The city passed in Madara's car quickly since he loved to speed, going ten to twenty miles over the speed limit was his national pass time. The glass and structures bled together into a shining mess of shapes that seemed to be smudged across the darkening skyline. The gray of the sky made the sun that shone through the clouds stand out even more, as if the area where the rays were shining down were being blessed by some invisible force. Unfortunately, that was not Madara's car. Itachi sighed a little to himself as he continued to stare out the window; they had come into the city now and the more sophisticated looking buildings were starting to mix into the classic charm of the brick buildings, some still having the old logos and advertisements from when they first opened painted on the side facing traffic flow.(3)

Itachi loved this part of the city; it reminded him of simplicity, something that he wished for in his own life but seemed to never have. He leaned his temple against the window and continued to look out at the city, noticing the instant change of scenery. His eyebrows knitted in confusion as Madara continued forward, heading towards what could only be called, 'the ghetto'. (3 cont.)

People from all walks of life seemed to be separated here. Anyone who looked like they had some kind of higher up job avoided the people on the street as though they were walking disease and filth. The lower people on the food chain seemed to have nothing more than contempt for the richer, upper class citizens, glaring at them as they passed or harassing them as they walked by. Though, some of the desperate hounded them, asking for a meager piece of something that they could more than easily spare yet spend it all frivolously and make themselves spiral deeper into a darker, desolate place within their own lives. A place Itachi could only label a Hell on Earth.

Three prostitutes lined the street corners, one leaning into a car, her make up and clothes in a complete and utter mess as she tried to talk the person in the car up to a higher price for her 'services'. She got into the car as a black truck came around, a man leaning out the window yelling at the other two girls. They both hesitantly went up to the truck and got in; Itachi shuddered to himself.

Madara locked the car doors as they came to a stoplight and Itachi pulled himself back into his seat, trying to avoid his window as much as possible. He didn't want random people coming up to his uncle's car and banging on the glass; it had happened before, it wasn't a pleasant experience then, and it certainly wouldn't be now. He thanked his lucky stars when the light turned green and they kept heading down the street, still having no clue to where his uncle was taking him.

"Uncle?" Itachi looked over and Madara glanced back at him with a smirk as they turned down an alley way. The roofs of buildings encased the top, cutting off whatever little sun light was sinking through the clouds and making the path completely black. Itachi wasn't frightened though; he was more like annoyed that Madara was ignoring him. If his gift was supposed to be a surprise, he almost wished he wasn't going to receive it if it meant going through all this. He was about to lay into Madara and give him a piece of his mind when the car stopped suddenly.

"We're here…Get out of the car Itachi." There was something in Madara's tone that actually made the hair on Itachi's arm stand on end, but he complied with his uncle's wishes as soon as he saw he was also getting out of the car. Madara walked next to Itachi, leading him yet letting him do as he pleased. The building they had stopped at looked like an abandoned warehouse but from the slow, lengthy notes filling the air around them with such beautiful music Itachi questioned that they were still in the ghetto. He hadn't heard such wonderful playing of string instruments since he was a teenager. Itachi walked up to the door, his curiosity peaked but Madara grabbed his hand, looking at him with a wonderfully evil glint in his eye. "Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast Itachi, you can't just barge in." Madara knocked on the door and a metal bar slid open; a pair of eyes glancing back at them.

"Oh? Finally deciding to come back, eh Madara?" The man said unlocking the door and opening it for the two Uchihas. "And you brought a friend, a very sexy one at that. Well, I hope you two enjoy your time here…It is truly unforgettable."

The door opened wide and Madara stepped inside first, letting Itachi follow his lead. His senses were overwhelmed as soon as he set foot into the building. It was dark inside and seeming to have no windows and only strings of lights draped down the walls, dotted with the occasional frosted glass lamp. The walls were painted black but had bright curtains of crimson hanging in front of sections of the wall; covering what Itachi could only think were doors or some kind of passage ways. The air was heavy with smoke as the men situated about enjoyed their pipes, cigarettes, or cigars with much enthusiasm. Itachi found it almost hard to breathe but ignored it as Madara led him down a small staircase. It led to a small lobby where a stage sat in the middle of the room; a dark blue was pulled back showing a string quartet, all male, all wearing almost nothing.

That shocked Itachi slightly as the men started to cheer and snicker darkly; the men onstage seemed to ignore it and play more, not letting their hidden annoyance play into the deep, beautiful tones of the music. This place made Itachi feel completely on edge, especially when he heard the throaty, lust filled whispers as he passed by a group of men; they were all staring at him like he was nothing more than a piece of meat. Itachi held in a shiver of disgust and started to increase his pace, coming to walk next to Madara instead of behind him.

"Don't worry Itachi," He said with a smirk on his face, "I won't let anyone harm or touch you…Unless, of course, you want them to." There was a huge amount of amusement in his tone as he pulled back a heavy crimson curtain, holding it open for them. Itachi walked in to the room and almost gasped with disgust and amazement.

The room itself was beautiful; carvings of gold and jade dragons lined the walls, their snarling lips curved up in a sadistic smile as they leaned their faces back towards the entrance. But that wasn't the most striking about the room; there were countless men, all looking successful or at least with some money to their names. They had boys, ranging from age sixteen to twenty five, it seemed, on their laps or in cages. The men seemed extremely excited by them; they cooed and purred at the boys, making them giggle or playfully push them away, teasing them and seducing them with expertise.

"What kind of place have you taken me to?" Itachi asked eyeing his uncle suspiciously.

Madara smirked a little as he the waves of younger men smiled at him, a vicious animalistic quality about their faces, they were predators and the older men, nothing more than prey. They turned away from them as a man came through the curtain. Madara turned, avoiding Itachi's gaze, as he waved the man over to him, an aggressively pleased look about his face.

This man was a curious one, bandages covered the right side of his face, giving him a more mysterious appearance. He walked with a cane but other than that seemed like any typical old man, but there was something about him, something so sinister than Itachi could only label it as sheer malevolence. The younger men tried to ignore his presence as much as they possibly could but out of the corner of Itachi's eye, he could see more than a few of them shuddering with fear, obviously with memories of things they dared not speak. Their plastic smiles and giggles acting as their only emotional shields.

"It's good to see you Danzo. It has been a long time, don't you agree?" He said with a slightly demented affection.

"Yes, a very long time. Almost a year if I do recall correctly." He replied and his gaze slanted over to Itachi, who was standing silently next to his uncle. "And who is this?"

"Uchiha Itachi, I'm Madara's nephew." The youngest man stated in a deathly calm tone. Danzo felt himself being drawn towards the younger Uchiha, smiling slightly at him. His calm, majestic beauty was something to be admired. His gorgeous face reminded Danzo very much of China Dolls, so stoic, so perfectly crafted, so fragile, yet so breathtakingly stunning. Itachi's cold eyes took him in and Danzo could almost feel the contempt and disgust rolling off the younger man. It was absolutely marvelous in his opinion.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself; I'm the owner of this establishment, Shimura Danzo." Itachi and Danzo shook hands; and the Uchiha found that the older man's hand lingered too long in his own, making his skin crawl, not that he would show it on his face. The less this man knew about him, the better. "So Madara, why is it you've decided to come back after all this time?"

"Ah, I've come to give my nephew a birthday present." Itachi gave a tilted glance towards his uncle but hide the shock on his face at the admittance of what was actually going on. This was the last place he would have ever expected to get a present from. "Since he's twenty five, a quarter of a century old, I decided his present needs to be momentous. So I found myself thinking that one of your trained pets would do well to please him…And if not then, well, I may find something to suit my own tastes."

Cruelty spread across Danzo's face as he smiled; Itachi found himself being more and more aware of how much his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He should have demanded that Madara taken him back as soon as they got to this building. But at the same time, Itachi found himself being drawn in; wanting to see what 'pets' were going to be offered to him. The old man nodded as he walked through the room, giving pointed glances towards some of the boys, making them straighten up and push themselves closer to the men they were atop. It was obvious that this was a 'sell it or be punished' kind of existence.

They walked to the back of the room where Danzo pushed back a painting and pulled out a ring of keys. He unlocked something, making a handle pop up from the wall. He grasped it and pulled it open, revealing a secret staircase. It was lit with lights had the appearance of candles, giving it more romantic feel, but Itachi knew better; this was not, in any sense of the word, romantic. It was tempting yet sinister and evil in every sense of the word.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs Itachi felt his heart race with shock. Men and boys lined the walls, all locked up by a collar with chains on their necks. They all looked up, dead eyes staring into the air, as if there was nothing but noise that disrupted them. "These all are untrained so please forgive them for being so out there; we generally like to get them when they're young so they can be trained from the get-go, but we make do with what we got. We haven't been receiving many young children lately." Danzo muttered, all of the men shivered or whimpered as he passed, shrinking back into themselves. "But the trained ones are through this door…" He opened a door and let Itachi and Madara pass him as he shut the door behind him.

The room was filled with men, compared to the earlier men, it was almost a surprise to see that they were fully clothed. They all sat together in small groups but as soon as they heard Madara clearing his throat, they all moved slowly, getting into a line that spanned the entire room. Some of them planted fake, plastic smiles on their lips while others kept their faces completely blank.

"Madara…" Itachi turned towards his uncle but the man just spun him back around, making him take in the individual beauty of each of the men. One of them stood out instantly to Itachi and it made his heart thump madly in his chest.

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."(4) Madara muttered into his nephew's ear. Itachi was completely silent as he felt the smirk on his uncle's face start to send out waves of sick amusement. "Well then, you're in a good situation. Pick one of them Itachi; they will be anyone you want them to be without question. The one you pick will be completely loyal to you, Itachi, and you can live out any sick and twisted fantasy you wish with them. It's the reason why I brought you here, you know. I know that some kinks are better left in the hands of those you can trust."

Itachi was stunned but didn't allow it to show on his face when he looked over all of the men, scanning their faces for anything he could pick up. He looked over at Danzo. "Are they all virgins?"

"No." He replied. "Do you want me to weed out the ones who've had sex?" Itachi found himself nodding and Madara had an even more wicked smirk on his face as Danzo snapped his fingers making a little more than half the group disperse around the room; they were still deathly silent though.

Itachi was surprised to see the one who had caught his attention still up there. "I don't want anyone under the age of eighteen." Danzo snapped again and a few others left the line. Itachi's eyes gazed hungrily at the man who was standing right in front of him. He was beautiful; dark raven locks that seemed to have a blue tint to it stuck up in delicate spikes on the back of his head. His skin was porcelain smooth, creamily unmarred. But his eyes, they were so cold, so dead. He was like a living mannequin; perfectly beautiful yet seemingly lifeless and cold. Itachi felt himself being more and more drawn to him. He was perfect. "What's his name?" Itachi asked with a pointed glance. Danzo followed his gaze and his eyes landed on the raven haired boy who stood their silently.

"His name is whatever you want it to be." Danzo said as he beckoned the boy from the line. He came forward, walking confidently as he looked at Itachi and then back at Danzo. He had yet to say anything but those eyes never seemed to leave Itachi's form. The Uchiha almost wanted to laugh; it was more than obvious that this boy found him attractive as well, though he may not show it on his face.

"Is he the one you want?" Madara asked, a sudden hint of anxiousness to his tone. Itachi raised an eyebrow at his uncle but chose to ignore his uncle's sudden concern. The Uchiha thought about questioning his uncle but when he looked back at the boy standing in front of him, his beauty so very close to him, intoxicating him, all of the words that lingered on his tongue instantly died down and were swallowed.

Itachi reached out and caressed his face; he leaned into his hand, seeming to enjoy the very soft, gentle touch. He glanced up into Itachi's eyes and they locked for a moment; the boy seemed to be pulling him in, trying to draw him in with the sheer intensity of his loveliness.

Madara felt himself wanting more and more to push that boy away from Itachi, he had suspected Itachi would pick him, out of all the potential pets Danzo had. But Madara refused to let the anger and annoyance show on his face, even if Danzo was smirking at him. "Is he the one you want, Itachi?" Madara's question came again and Itachi turned towards his uncle, the spell over him seeming to be broken. Itachi pulled his hand back and the boy stood there, an almost disappointed look coming over his features.

"Yes…He is." The boy smirked a little at that but let the happiness on his face die slightly when Danzo glanced over at him. He remained silent as Itachi leaned in, brushing a strand of hair from his face. He spoke so only the beautiful boy could hear him and he seemed to enjoy Itachi's presence so close to him. "Hmm, but what shall I call you? Danzo says your name is whatever I want it to be but…Do you even have a name?"

"Daisuke." He replied and Itachi almost thought that someone else had answered. He hadn't really expected the boy to answer himself but when he did, something blossomed in his chest, and it brought a small bit of lust into his veins. His voice was cold, yet strangely alluring. There was a playfulness to it, as though something about this situation was amusing him. Itachi couldn't help but think that Daisuke, if he showed more emotion, would almost be a second version of Madara.

"Daisuke, eh?" Madara said looking the boy over. "I approve. Alright Danzo, we'll take him."

"Ah yes, very good. I've been trying to get Daisuke out of here since he was sixteen; many people have complained that his cold demeanor detours from his beauty but I'm glad that someone was able to see that it actually adds to it." Danzo said as he patted Itachi on the shoulder and headed back towards the door that lead out of the room. Daisuke stuck to Itachi's side like glue when they passed through the dark room filled with chained up boys, all of their eyes glanced up towards Daisuke; desperation filled their eyes as some of them attempted to reach up to touch him. Danzo would slap their hands with his cane and every time he did, Itachi noticed, Daisuke would bite him lip to prevent himself from flinching.

Itachi put his arm around Daisuke's shoulder and pulled him closer into his body; even though this boy was supposed to be loyal to him no matter what, there had to be an established level of trust and comfort. He didn't want Daisuke to shudder in fear of him, he wanted the boy to be happy whenever he entered the room or touched him.

Daisuke looked up at Itachi, who was holding him so closely, so gently. It was nothing he had ever experience before; he was so used to the sting and burn of human coldness that he had never felt the warm embrace of kindness. It was strange to him, alien. But not unwelcome, at all. Daisuke wondered though if this was an act; to get him to trust Itachi and then have the man do wicked things to him. But Daisuke couldn't tell, there was such a stoic, coldness about Itachi that mirrored his own that he couldn't tell what he was thinking, much like others couldn't tell what Daisuke was thinking. It was like they were made for each other.

And Daisuke couldn't help but thank his lucky stars that Itachi was attractive. He had feared for a while that he would end up with an old, aging, man who reminded him of Danzo. But Itachi was, in a sense, complete majesty. Daisuke had never seen someone who looked so wonderfully splendid in his entire life. His long raven hair complimented his pale, lovely skin in such a way, it almost seemed like it was glowing. And his eyes they were something to be admired, so black and deep with emotions Daisuke wished to feel and know.

He heard something nagging in the back of his head and couldn't help but think about the training Danzo had put him through. He was getting ahead of himself, he didn't know a thing about Itachi besides his name, and it wasn't even his full name. Plus, his character must not have been that great since he was in a place like this, surprising as it was to Daisuke. Surely a man like Itachi could have anything or anyone he wanted. But that wasn't the point, he was here, in his Hell hole, and buying one of Danzo's 'pets'.

"Daisuke." Both of them paused as Danzo looked back at the boy, his eyes glancing over him with a lusty stare but there was also much contempt. "Go find Sai and tell him we're going to need him to finish the contract."

Daisuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes but nodded, heading off towards the front of the building to find this mysterious man. Itachi watched as Daisuke left and followed Madara into an office looking room. Danzo looked through a cabinet full of files and seemed to find the one he was looking for and slapped it on his desk. He looked through it all before pulling out a specific piece of paper.

"Madara since you're technically making the purchase, you're going to need to fill out the sheet. Which is good since you've bought pets from us previously." He nodded grabbing the paper and looking over it. "After that we just have to finish with the Human Contract."

"Human Contract?" Itachi inquired.

"Yes, Daisuke is required to get a symbol of your ownership over him." Danzo said as he handed Madara a pen so he could fill out the paperwork. "That's why he's retrieving Sai. He's an artist but more specifically, a tattoo artist. I would suggest you pick a symbol for Daisuke to have on him now to save time for Sai, he's a very busy man."

There was a knock on the door and Daisuke walked in with another, slightly taller raven haired boy behind him. Itachi was almost taken off guard by his youth; he had been expecting a much older man, for some reason. Sai smiled, Itachi could tell that it was plastic, and glanced towards Danzo.

"You summoned me Master?" He said walking over to the desk and smiling down at him.

"Daisuke needs a tattoo, he's being purchased."

"Oh?" He glanced back at Daisuke, his smile had changed to a sinisterly dark smirk but when he turned back to Danzo he was smiling once again. "That's wonderful news." He walked back towards Daisuke and put an arm around his shoulder. Daisuke was actually frowning but made no attempt to shake Sai off. "Come along Daisuke, we'll get you all set up."

"Go with him Itachi." Madara said, patting Itachi on the shoulder. "All I have to do is paperwork and that's boring. Besides you have to pick a design anyway." Itachi nodded, getting up from his seat. Sai smiled at him lustfully and led the two of them out of the room, leaving Madara and Danzo alone.

The two of them were silent as they sat across from each other; Danzo could tell Madara was not pleased. He tapped the pen angrily on the stack of papers as he glared down Danzo. "Don't turn this around on me, Madara. How was I supposed to know that out of every single pet I had Itachi would pick him?"

"I hadn't expected him to still be here Danzo!" Madara said in loudly spoken tones. He wanted very much to reach across the desk and grab the man by the throat but swallowed the urge. He needed to keep his cool just incase he ever needed Danzo again. "How is it that someone of his beauty was still here after twenty years?"

"He…Well…" Danzo seemed to be thinking of the correct words to explain to Madara but the longer the pause was, the more irate Madara got. He was almost like a volcano; an explosion waiting to happen. "He did have a previous owner but it seems that he wasn't so cooperative with him. The training only seemed to get him through the first week or so before his owner decided to try and take him to his bed. It didn't turn out well…He lashed out at his owner and refused his advances, even going so far as to kick him in the balls."

"Really?" Madara seemed genuinely surprised; Danzo's training rarely ever failed, so this actually came as a shock to him since Daisuke's demeanor seemed to be one of a completely tame house pet. "Who was this poor bastard?"

"You know I'm not allowed to disclose that information." Danzo said and Madara shrugged.

"Whatever, I forgot how boring you are." Madara said as he pulled out his credit card. "How much for the kid anyway?"

"Fifty million yen.(5)" Danzo said as he took Madara's credit card and sliding it through a machine at his desk. The Uchiha was glad he had such good control over his emotions otherwise he thought his jaw would have fallen off his face. That was a steep deal of money.

"How can you charge that much for used goods?"

"He's still a virgin. We confirmed it with Daisuke, his previous owner, and of course with one of our medical staff."

"Hn. If I didn't know you better I'd say you were trying to cheat me out of my money." Madara said as he took his credit card back from Danzo. The Uchiha stood up and started to head for the door when Danzo cleared his throat. He turned his attention towards the older man.

"You need to watch both of them carefully, especially Itachi…" Danzo said as he eyed Madara fully. The Uchiha scoffed a little as he opened the door.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself Danzo. He doesn't remember anything about him; it works very well for the moment. And if something is to happen, well, I'll make sure to nip it in the bud. But until then, I'll make sure to keep my dearest nephew unaware and completely happy. It is my job as an Uncle, is it not?" Madara left the room with a smirk on his face.  
>-<p>

"Eventually I want you to rename me." Daisuke said as he looked up at Itachi. They were walking side by side behind Sai who was leading them to some secluded back room. Itachi glanced over at the boy who was still as stoic as he was earlier. Their eyes met but Itachi couldn't really see any emotion in them. "Daisuke is the name they gave me, I don't want it. If I am to belong to you, I want you to name me."

Itachi couldn't help but feel that Daisuke wanted to escape this place, escape his past and start anew with him. Itachi liked the idea but he wasn't sure about how much he could make Daisuke forget. Some things were just too painful and terrible to forget. "If that is what you request of me," Itachi said as he looked down at Daisuke, "I'll think of something to call you…"

Daisuke looked grateful as Sai opened a door, turning on a light, the room filled with sickly white florescence and the three of them stepped into the room. "Daisuke, you know what to do."

He nodded and pulled the black fabric off his torso and laid down on a tattooing table. Itachi was only able to recognize something like it because of his own experiences in tattoo parlors. He pulled up a chair next to Daisuke as Sai started to prepare needles and ink for whatever design Itachi decided. He actually thought about making Daisuke get the Uchiha family symbol on his shoulder. It was a simple design that actually said a lot, the Uchihas were powerful, they were well respected, surely if someone saw the insignia of Uchiha on Daisuke, people would instantly assume he was a member of the family and leave him alone.

Itachi pulled out his business card and handed it to Sai. "My family crest is a well known symbol. I think it would look well on Daisuke's shoulder."

"How simple…Yet I love it." Sai said with a smile as he grabbed tracing paper and started to get to work. It only took him about ten minutes to finish up the design and stick it on Sasuke's shoulder in the perfect position. Sai dipped his needle in the red and started to get to work, filling the top portion of the insignia. The buzzing on the needle made Daisuke flinch, just a tiny bit before the needle was pressed into his skin.

Daisuke bit back a cry of pain and started to breathe deeply, trying to calm his body down. It was much larger than his previous tattoo but the design was easily and not in an extremely painful location. His hand twitched but when Itachi's hand brushed his own and interlaced their fingers, relief seemed to flood Daisuke. Itachi's touch was just so soothing, so calming that it seemed to almost completely erase the pain of the needle continuously stabbing into his flesh.

Nearly two hours later(6) and the tattoo had been completed. Sai wiped it down and put an antibacterial cream on it before placing a larger gauze bandage on it. "In a few hours, at least two, you can remove the bandage. And when you do, I would suggest washing the tattoo with lukewarm water and some kind of anti-bacterial soap. Don't use a washcloth on it, it will sting. If your tattoo feels slimy, Daisuke, that means you've been leaking plasma, wash as much of it as you can off. It'll form scabs on your tattoo. After you've washed it, PAT it dry with a CLEAN towel." Sai stood up then and looked around the room before grabbing a small bottle and handed it to Itachi. "This is oil enriched with vitamin A and D, it is wonderful for the skin, use it after Daisuke's tattoo has dried."

"Thank you." Itachi said as he placed the small bottle in his pocket. "Come along Daisuke, Madara has surely been waiting for us for a long time."

Daisuke nodded and put his tank top back on, cringing a little when it brushed slightly against his newly tattooed shoulder. Sai waved and smiled to him as they walked out of the room but then the smile instantly dropped from his face, he looked down at the business card still on the tattooing table where the ink lay and smirked a little to himself. Daisuke's previous owner would very much like to know of his pet's new owner, wouldn't he?

Itachi had his arm wrapped around Daisuke's waist as they passed through the glorious smoke filled lobby and towards the exit where the man by the door seemed mildly amused by the two of them as they passed. He opened the door for them and when they stepped out of the dimly lit warehouse and onto the moderately dark streets, Itachi had to blink a few times to get his eyes to adjust. He spotted Madara sitting on the hood of his car, smoking a cigarette, and staring up into the sky.

"Took the two of you long enough." Madara said as he tossed the cigarette on the ground, stamping it out with his heel. "Next time, I'll make you take your car."

Itachi rolled his eyes as he directed Daisuke over to the car. He got into the back with him and continued to hold him, feeling extremely drawn to the boy. He wasn't even sure why, but they seemed as though they were perfect for each other.

"Sasuke." Itachi said as he looked at Daisuke. The boy seemed to perk up a little and glanced over at Itachi.

"Excuse me?"

"Your new name is Sasuke." He replied kissing him on the temple very gently. Daisuke felt a flush creep up his cheeks and thanked his luck for it being dark. But, Daisuke decided, Sasuke was a much better name than the one given to him by Danzo. He knew that eventually he would forget that old name completely and become whatever Sasuke Itachi wanted him to be.

Madara glanced back at them, frowning a little bit as he turned on the car. This had not turned out according to plan but it seemed like destiny almost. It was like they said; only kindred souls gathered in the gale. But these kindred souls needed to just keep ignorant, especially Itachi. If his nephew sensed anything, picked up on anything, then it would all be over for him. He glared at 'Sasuke' through the rear view mirror but the boy didn't seem to notice, he was far too enchanted by Itachi. As long as that boy stayed enchanted by Itachi, and Itachi by him, it would be a simple relationship, one that would work well and not cause Madara so much stress, but Madara knew, nothing in life was that simple.

He pulled out into the street and did a U-turn, heading back towards his home. It was getting late now and he knew Itachi still had some kind of work to do. His tires screeched on the pavement in the city where evil never seemed to sleep.  
>-<p>

**1. That's right! Kisame is black. And do you know why? Because if he was blue in real life he would be so scary looking. And more than likely have genetic disorder involving his veins and the constriction of blood, which actually turns you more purple so this is just a better alternative. He's still shark lookin' though.**

**2. Fuddy-duddy: A term for an older person who is dull or boring.  
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**3. The city I'm writing about is a mix of a city I used to live in with one I like visiting; Tacoma and Seattle, both in Washington State. Tacoma has old beautiful brick buildings and other things like the glass museum, but then it turns hella ghetto when you pass all that stuff. Seattle has the beautiful glass buildings and sky scrapers but is also extremely ghetto in certain parts xD  
><strong>

**4. That was for all my Oscar Wilde fans. It is an actual quote from the book "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and I thought it fit perfectly in this situation so I decided to put it in there.  
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**5. Fifty million yen sounds like a lot, but in actuality it's only about five hundred thousand dollars. Which is pretty good considering Daisuke is a person and completely 'trained'…Kinda.  
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**6. Why Daisuke's tattoo took the time it did- because the Uchiha clan insignia is only two colors, there is no shading required, and the design is relatively simple. Well, I imagine it would only been that long, I really have no idea how long it would take. All I know is you're not supposed to have a tattoo session that's more than six hours because of how exhausting it is. **

**Me: Oh thank god, I finished.  
>Itachi: Yeah it only took you about a week.<br>Me: Shut up...You write this much with all the homework I had and see how much you get done.  
>Itachi: I'd get more done.<br>Me: NU UH! YOU WOULD FAIL!  
>Itachi: No. Unlike you, I do not suck or fail at anything.<br>Madara: He's right you know.  
>Me: Go away Madara nobody likes you!<br>Madara: That's not what your mom said!  
>Me:...REALLY? GET OUTTA HERE! -hits Madara with my HUGE Calculus book-<br>Itachi: This was Hitoko-Sama.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally! I can write a second chapter for this, ugh, I've been so busy but whatever! This is going to be nothing but pure awesome sauce. I hope you enjoy! Regular PV  
>-<strong>

"_**Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive."  
>~Sir Walter Scott<strong>_

Silence. It made up a bulk of the conversation going on between Itachi and Sasuke at that point. Though, it wasn't as if neither party wanted to talk to the other, it was just that they didn't exactly know what to say. Itachi had plenty of questions buzzing around in his mind but he didn't really feel that Sasuke would be the most comfortable answering them; he had just been purchased by Madara, Itachi's uncle, after all; it did not say the best things about his character. But he wanted Sasuke to feel comfortable with him, like he could trust him and not feel that all of his goals revolved around getting into the younger boy's pants, though the idea had crossed his mind more than a few times. Sasuke was a breathtaking piece of work.

"_Sasuke…"_ Itachi's mind seemed to sputter to a stop when he really thought about that name. A name that was pure beauty in itself, something that had a level of meaning the boy he had named would probably never figure out. Perhaps in due time Itachi would tell the boy what the name meant to him. Though, the more he thought about it in his head, the more he thought about Sasuke freaking out about it...

Sasuke shifted around as he took nervous glances over at Itachi. It had been a tense silence between the three of them when they were with that other man, Madara he believed the name was. But now it was just a silence composed of nervousness. He could tell that Itachi wanted to speak with him, probably ask a variety of questions about him; it was to be expected, he didn't have the most standard upbringing. Anyone who was raised to be trafficked would probably say the same thing. Though he could not say Danzo had not been kind some of the time; he knew for a fact that Danzo's 'training' could have been much worse for him; he was surprisingly lenient yet extremely effective.

But that still didn't mean Sasuke didn't hate that Hell hole with every fiber of his being. He didn't know who he was, who his family was, what opportunities he could have had; all of that had been taken away from him because he had been sold into this life. He would never know. Though, something about Itachi told him that he would have another story, told him that he may have a new existence. He had been ready to condemn Itachi the first moment he saw him but after the gentle manor in which he touched Sasuke he couldn't help but feel that Itachi wasn't like the other men who worked their way through 'pets' like they smoked through their expensive cigarettes.

However, Sasuke wasn't ready to completely abandon the idea. Danzo had said to keep on their toes around new owners or strangers because first impressions didn't mean shit in the long run. A person could be completely different within the first three days of a 'pet' staying with them, turn into a monster or some kind of other terror. Sasuke had already seen his share of beaten and bloody 'pets' returned to Danzo because of their 'lack of respect'. It was one of Sasuke's worse fears, to be tricked by an owner like that and then severely beaten and returned. He shivered inwardly.

Itachi glanced towards Sasuke catching a small sense of unease. He could tell it wasn't because of him, but from something else, either a memory or a fear that the boy had. As to what, Itachi was at a loss. He wished very much to get inside that lovely boy's mind and know everything about him; especially his fears so Itachi could do his best to stray away from them and keep Sasuke as comfortable as possible. The boy deserved that at the very least.

Itachi sighed a little rolling down his window as he drove up to a control panel. Sasuke was a bit amazed at the gated mansion the man was pulling up to. He punched in a number code and the gates spread apart allowing Itachi to pull forward. He parked in the garage that was already opened as they pulled up to it and they both got out of Itachi's car. Sasuke looked around following Itachi into the actual house as the garage door closed behind them.

Sasuke almost couldn't contain his awe as he entered into the kitchen through the door they had come through. Whatever Itachi did, it was allowing him to live quite comfortably. He looked the kitchen seeing that Itachi had expensive tastes, black marble granite counters, all the newest kitchen appliances and things that were colored chrome or black Sasuke didn't even know about. If the kitchen was like this, he wondered what the rest of house was going to be like.

"I guess I should give you a brief tour of the house tonight, though I have a feeling with all the free time you'll have tomorrow you can explore more fully and do whatever you like." Itachi said as he led Sasuke through the kitchen into another room. Sasuke looked up at the doorway noticing that the arches were carved with the symbol that was now tattooed on his body. He had a feeling he should know who Itachi was, but nothing was really coming to mind.

"Free time?" Sasuke questioned as he followed Itachi into a living area. A black leather couch and matching loveseat lined the walls and in the middle of the room was a large, brick fireplace with a wrought iron screen in front of it. The feel of it was cozy and warm but at the same time there was a coldness about the room because of the color scheme, mostly black with other splashes of dark colors like blue and purple, which were the colors of the accent pillows on the couch. It reminded Sasuke somewhat of the man leading him. The floors were hard, dark wood, as if it had been stained more than the required amount but it seemed to add to the charm of the room.

"Yes, I work tomorrow from seven in the morning until about six in the evening. I hope that my absence will not be an inconvenience to you…"

Sasuke had been expecting Itachi to be a busy man but he didn't think he would be gone almost twelve hours. He remembered his training and shook the surprise from himself. Just because Itachi was actually taking his feelings into consideration at the moment didn't mean he wanted to baby-sit him and hold his hand as he adjusted to life here. "No, it's fine. You have to work, it's not my place to come between you and your job. I will be quite respectful of whatever boundaries you set up in relation to what it is you wish to accomplish for that week or month or year. For lack of a better term, I am your pet, Itachi. I am your loyal dog and servant, anything you wish of me I will do. Any boundary or rule I will uphold."

"But what do you want to do?" Itachi asked smoothly as he motioned for Sasuke to follow him. He didn't particularly like being in this position of absolute power. He was used to people rolling over for him but not in a manner such as this; it was completely master and servant. Itachi was only a man and having this much control over another being who was no better or worse than himself bothered him on a moral and ethical level. Itachi decided that with time he would be able to break whatever brainwashing Danzo had done.

"I want whatever you want." Sasuke said as a reply, smirking a bit as he came to stand beside the Uchiha. Itachi was also smirking and ruffled the boy's hair before continuing with his journey.

"Wonderful news." Itachi stated as he led Sasuke to a door; the younger raven could hear the mocking in his tone but didn't comment. When he opened the door up a staircase stood in the wood's place; it descended towards yet another door that had a hard concrete floor in front of it, but the hallway in which the stairs were housed looked menacing; the walls were close together and painted black. There was only one light on each wall and they were both at the bottom of the staircase. "This leads down to the basement. I don't go down there much myself but if you want to poke around, be my guest. The only thing that you're bound to find is spiders, dust, and maybe a few embarrassing snap-shots of me as a child." Itachi smiled a little then and Sasuke could feel the heat rushing to his face. A smile very much fit the features of Itachi's face; it made his already inhuman beauty become more pronounced against such set stoicism. Itachi closed the door and pointed down the hallway. "If you keep going straight, you'll arrive at the front door."

"You know, you don't have to give me a tour if you really don't want to." Sasuke said suddenly and instantly regretted having opened his mouth. He didn't understand why he had said it but at the same time he did; Itachi had said that Sasuke was allowed to explore as much as he pleased tomorrow so he was bound to figure this all out, but he there was a part of him that wanted very much for Itachi to lead him around, show him things about the house. But much to Sasuke's surprise instead of receiving a scoff and the cold shoulder he got a chuckle in response.

"I would not be a very good host if I allowed my 'pet' to get lost on the first day, would I?" Sasuke had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. This man was really something. "Come along, there is much more to see. Oh, I forgot to mention this in the kitchen. There was a black curtain covering up the sliding glass door; it leads to the backyard, the garden, and the pool."

He led Sasuke down the hallway by the front door and another staircase presented itself. This one was no better than the last except for the fact that it wasn't completely closed in on both sides. There were more lights though and instead of hard wood, it was actually carpeted. The carpets were deep, royal purple, the same color of Itachi's nails, Sasuke noticed. Itachi took off his shoes then and put them on the stoop below the hardwood, Sasuke did the same. "I'm not particularly strict about the shoe thing because I break that rule all the time, but if you can remember please take off your shoes before heading up to the carpeted areas of the house."

Sasuke nodded as he followed Itachi up the stairs. The first room on Sasuke's left was a recreation room, there was a small couch inside it with a plasma screen television, a cable box was connected to it as well as several gaming stations. The walls were lined with boxes of DVDs and games. Sasuke was slightly shocked. "I never took you for a gamer."**(1)** He muttered aloud. Itachi scoffed a little.

"It's my dirty little secret. At first when Uncle Madara bought me a Playstation I had thought he lost his mind but after playing for a few hours I found that it was far more enjoyable than I previously assumed. You are also welcome to anything in that room of course." They continued to walk down the hall and Itachi grabbed the handle of one of the doors and opened it. "This is the guest room."

For a guest room it was much better than the average, but that seemed to be theme in Itachi's home. A chair sat in the corner and it wasn't some wooden one, it was a black leather recliner that looked fully ready to be sat in. The side table next to it was stacked with a few paper back novels, probably literature, if Sasuke was reading Itachi correctly. The bed looked comfortable; the black, thick comforter was fluffed and looked fresh as if it had been pulled out of the dryer that very morning. The pillows, which were covered in dark purple satin, looked fluffy and inviting. "This can be your room if you wish."

"You don't want me to sleep in the same room as you?" Sasuke asked quickly. As he reflected upon the question, the wording wasn't quite right; it sounded as though he thought Itachi was rejecting him when he was really trying to convey a sense of gratitude. Sasuke noticed that his thoughts were very jumbled by Itachi's actions and kindness, it was like he was unprepared to speak in the man's presence.

"Not quite." Itachi said as he looked down at the boy. "For one, I get up relatively early to complete my morning routines, which is unfair to you because of how easily you may wake from sleeping. I would feel bad if you woke up ridiculously early and stayed up with nothing to do; it's very frustrating. Also, I'm a firm believer that people should have their own space to get away from it all; if you do not wish to deal with me that day then by all means stay in your room and do as you will; I shall not disturb you unless there is something you require of me."

Sasuke wasn't used to this kind of selfless generosity. When he was living at that complex he had to share a room with at least one other person, even though he was highly prized, according to Danzo. What seemed to surreal about it was how the training had practically ingrained that 'pets' would be treated as things or animals that had to obey but Itachi wasn't thinking of Sasuke as a thing at all, he was thinking of him as a person. He was supposed to be something that Itachi would use for his own selfish purposes. Itachi was giving up a great deal for him even going so far as to give him a new name and a new beginning. Sasuke very much wished to express his gratitude. He licked his lips as he looked up at Itachi, a devilish smirk spread across his lips as he grabbed onto the front of Itachi's shirt. Since he hadn't been braced when Sasuke started to pull, Itachi's body followed him all the way to the bed and flopped down on the sheets without a hint of resistance.

"Not even a full day with you and you're already treating me as a prized possession…" Sasuke muttered as he crawled on top of the Uchiha. He ran his hands down Itachi's chest, unconsciously licking his lips as he gazed into those deep, dark eyes. He yearned to feel the mystery in those depths. He leaned in and brushed his lips ever so gently over Itachi's. When he fully felt the press of Itachi's mouth against his, Sasuke's nerves lit with such a passionate, subduing burn. Sasuke actually moaned when the press of Itachi's mouth increased as he started to kiss back, moving his bottom lip to part Sasuke's mouth more. A sinful tongue caressed his bottom lip, the younger raven could taste the lust upon it and craved the flavor of Itachi's silk appendage.

Sasuke jumped a little when he felt a pair of strong hands grab onto his ass. He almost pulled away from Itachi because of the moan that threatened to tear through his lips. His touch was like bolts of electric pleasure sending signals up and down Sasuke's spine. He desired more touching from this man, more pleasure, just more of Itachi.

Itachi wasn't particularly surprised that it had been Sasuke to make the first move. He had probably been hardwired to believe that any kindness should be repaid in full with his flesh. Itachi didn't agree with that logic but for some reason as soon as Sasuke's lips touch his and he was able to feel the body of the smaller raven against him, Itachi quickly felt all the control he had leave him. Not that he minded really, it had been awhile since he fulfilled his physical desires; Sasuke's beauty was unparalleled and it didn't exactly retract from desire in any amount.

It was difficult for Sasuke to grasp the speed in which he was being seduced by Itachi. He had originally intended to please his master but he lost his grip on the control he had when Itachi started to participate; there was something in his touch, a strange quirk that made Sasuke want to give up every ounce of himself to him. He wanted Itachi to take him; it had not been like that at all with his previous owner. That man made him feel nothing but resentment. But Itachi, he was everything Sasuke had hoped for; unreal beauty, morbid generosity, electrifying touch, seductive kiss. It was as though Itachi wasn't a real person.

Sasuke clawed at the clothing covering Itachi's chest; the desire was becoming primal and animalistic in every sense. He just wanted to be pleasured by such a gorgeous man and all of the clothing was getting in his way. Sasuke pulled back, opening his eyes for the first time in what felt like an eternity, and startled off Itachi, letting out a small yelp when he saw that he was face to face with an creature he had not been expecting to be there. Itachi sat up and Sharingan, his cat, jumped in his lap. This wasn't the first time Itachi felt like he should throw the small feline out the window; though thanks to Sharingan he regained his composure. Sasuke blinked a little as the cat jumped out of Itachi's lap and onto the floor next to the younger raven.

Just as the video games had been a shock, the fluffy, black, and white feline that was now snuggling Sasuke was also very shocking. "You're a cat person too?"

"I guess you can say that; I like them better than dogs. Though Sharingan isn't technically a pet I yearned for, he belonged to my Uncle Izuna." Itachi said as he noticed how much Sharingan really seemed to like Sasuke. The little raven was smirking a little as he cuddled the cat in his arms. Sharingan was purring loudly as Sasuke stroked behind his small, black ears and Itachi couldn't help but think, in that moment, Sasuke looked strangely like Izuna. Itachi shook himself of that thought; it gave him the chills.

"Well, I'm going to retire for the evening." Itachi stated as he stretched a little bit. He was being genuine about this; it had really been a very long day for the two of them. The Uchiha glanced over at the bandage on Sasuke's shoulder. "But before I do, we should get your tattoo cleaned up. Come along."

Sasuke was slightly disappointed that he didn't get farther with Itachi but it wasn't even the end to the first day and he had a feeling there would be plenty of opportunities with his beautiful man, especially since the lust seemed to be mutual. He placed Sharingan on the floor, and followed Itachi out the door, noticing the cat was also trailing behind him. There was a door across the hallway from Sasuke's new room; it was the bathroom. Itachi clicked on the light as Sasuke followed behind him. He turned and saw that Sharingan sat in the doorway, obviously objecting in going any farther into the room. "He's had a few traumatic experiences in here." Itachi stated as he turned on the sink, letting the water heat up. He opened up a cabinet and pulled out a still wrapped bar of soap, starting to peel it as he motioned for Sasuke to sit on the toilet. "Since you can't use a washcloth to clean your tattoo, I'll clean it and then put a new bandage on it. And then in the morning if you want, you can wash it again, but I don't think you'll have to keep it wrapped up anymore, just be gentle with it…Take off your shirt."

Sasuke did as he was requested to do and Itachi saw that the boy in front of him had another mark on the junction of his shoulder and neck; it was like three drops only the elongated to the point where they looked like sharp commas. Itachi couldn't help but think that seemed like a terribly painful place to receive a tattoo; he couldn't help but feel as though he had seen that mark before. Itachi's eyebrow twitched slightly with annoyance; he was a bit peeved with himself for not noticing such a mark earlier. That just proved how taken he was with Sasuke.

He wetted his hand and soaped up, knowing that if he had done this with a wash cloth, it would hurt Sasuke and that was one of the last things he wanted. He started to gently wash the tattoo. Sasuke winced a little at the feeling but tried to keep as still as possible, but then he remember that it was Itachi who was washing his shoulder, showing him all this kindness and the pain subsided to the point where Sasuke sighed a little with pleasure. Itachi noticed this and instantly felt need growing inside him again; this boy's presence was dangerous, it was slowly corrupting him and would undoubtedly turn him into a sex-loving fiend…Just like Madara.

"_That was a terrible thought…"_ Itachi mused to himself as he gently brushed his fingers against Sasuke's shoulder feeling him shudder underneath the touch. The last thing he wanted was to be like that man.

"So…" Sasuke began looking around, a small blush on his face. "You've probably noticed the other tattoo by now…"

"Hn."

"I'm just going to get this out of the way now. I did have a previous owner but he returned me because I didn't behave around him."

"Oh? I would think that if you were acting as you were previously, he'd be very happy." Itachi replied as he continued to wash the slimy plasma build up on Sasuke's shoulder. That small comment made Sasuke twitch a little; there was something so subtle yet such a direct slap in the face that it made him want to turn around and punch Itachi. He had been so understanding up to this point that the comment previously uttered had not been expected…Though, the comment did seem to come from a point of anger…Sasuke smirked a little. Itachi was jealous! Oh that was rich! Sasuke snickered a little bit and the older raven glanced down at him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing…" Sasuke assured with a shake of his head. "But you don't have to worry, Danzo and I were telling the truth about me being a virgin. I was medically examined and everything." Itachi touch on his shoulder lightened a little bit, Sasuke noticed. So a thought like that had been pulsing through Itachi's mind, that dirty bird. However Sasuke thought it was cute that Itachi needed some amount of reassurance. "Besides, I don't think I could ever let my previous owner touch me in that way…He was just so…Creepy and…Disgusting. I don't think Danzo would have told you this but I did kick my previous owner in the balls when he tried to take me to his bed." Sasuke grabbed Itachi's other, free hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it gently. "He was nothing like you; I actually want you to have me…" Sasuke sucked the tip of Itachi's finger into his mouth, nibbling the tip ever so softly before glancing up at the Uchiha. "All of me…"

Itachi felt the blood rushing away from his head.  
>-<p>

Sasuke sat on his bed and wondered how Itachi had managed to resist him. He had even sucked on his finger; all men were weak against the finger sucking. **(2) **He sighed a little. At least Itachi was respectful of him and not treating him as though he was a piece of meat. He could be grateful for that but nothing else. Sasuke actually wanted to have sex with Itachi; he wasn't sure why. He suspected it was partially Danzo's training, partially Itachi's sexiness, and the rest was the feelings he was getting. Itachi was actually making him feel more than fear, disgust, and anger. Danzo had always thought that Sasuke was perfect in that sense, always so concise and cold. Never showing emotions. But Itachi made him show certain things like desire, lust, gratitude, things he thought he would never show an owner.

He laid down covering himself with the large, very warm, and snuggly comforter as Sharingan hopped up onto the bed, snuggling up to Sasuke. He wanted to ask why Itachi's uncle would give up such a sweet cat but he had forgotten. He guessed he had plenty of time to get the answer…

_**~Sasuke's dream/memory! But to clear up confusion now, he will be called Daisuke since it is the past!~**_

_The classroom had never been one of Daisuke's favorite rooms. It wasn't that he didn't like learning, quite the contrary, he found it very enjoyable. But he would rather be sitting by the window with a book than with a bunch of other, annoying children around him; their stupidity and carelessness was insufferable. _

_Tapping echoed through the room as it quieted. Danzo entered with a woman and she didn't look very happy, there was sternness about her that made a bead of cold sweat drip down his spine. "From now on, we will not be babying you." Everyone was muttering and looking around glancing towards the front of the room where Danzo stood with that older woman who seemed to get a colder and colder look by the second. Daisuke had never seen that woman before, even though he had already been here for ten years he wondered who she was. "All of you are still very young and we've been training you since the day you turned five...Some are not progressing as well as others." Daisuke gulped when he heard that, he was the child with the strongest vocabulary in the classroom and had the highest level of comprehension; he knew what the woman was saying while others were very confused and looked around for answers but still could felt the tension in the air. She glanced over at a few choice students before clearing her throat. "I'm going to call five children's names, if you are called, please leave your seat and come forward to Danzo." _

_Daisuke gulped a little as everyone seemed to tense up. No one really knew who was 'trained' in comparison to the other children. "Satoshi." One of the boys in the front row got up and walked up to Danzo standing by his side nervously. "Sai." Daisuke couldn't help but feel a little resentment. Sai was Danzo's favorite and because of that someone else was probably pushed out of one the spots. "Kaito." He stood up slowly, smirking at the children around him as he made his way to the front. There was something about Kaito that he had never liked, an almost fox like trickery about him. "Hiroki." A timid boy rushed towards the front and Daisuke noticed that there was only one spot left, which meant only one more child would be picked from this group of thirty. Daisuke swallowed a little bit and the eyes of the old woman rested on him. "And finally, Daisuke."_

_Daisuke almost sighed with relief, but he didn't and just calmly walked up to them. Danzo seemed to be the most pleased with him because he ruffled the boy's hair. "Come along." The five of them followed Danzo out the door of the classroom, the back one that they were not allowed to go through normally. It always seemed to be locked. _

_They all stared with disgust and horror as Danzo slammed the door behind them. Men lined the walls, some of them bloody or beaten, others were staring with some far off look, while the active ones cowered with fear as Danzo stepped in front of the boys. "I want to congratulate the five of you; all of you are mature enough, obedient enough to skip over this step." The tension had not ceased, all of them looked around, terrified by just the thought of being here. "But, make no mistake, you will be dropped in here without hesitation if you fail any aspect of the training. Make me proud, boys." Danzo looked around and as someone reached out for him he stomped the hand down, making Daisuke feel sick to his stomach and fear like he had never felt_ _before.._.

_The door to Daisuke's shared room with Sai opened and it could only be one of two people; Sai himself or Danzo. No one besides them ever came to talk to Daisuke unless there was a meeting between the five top students and aforementioned man. But even then if It were Kaito, Hiroki, or Satoshi, barely any words were passed between them before they left. He glanced up at the person hovering in the doorway; it was Sai, he had a strange look on his face as he opened his mouth to say something. "Danzo wants to see us. All of us. Come on." _

_Daisuke got up from his bed and felt a small drip of cold sweat go down his spine as he followed Sai out the door and down the hall. They met up with Satoshi and Hiroki in the hallway and all four of them were wondering the same thing as they looked around. "Where's Kaito?" Satoshi asked in a small voice. He had always been a timid person, extremely submissive in personality. They all knew that Satoshi was going to be heavily prized when their training was finished because of his feminine features, light brown hair and sparkling green eyes. His foreign beauty would probably get him out of this place before anyone else. _

"_He didn't come back to your room last night?" Daisuke asked both Satoshi and Hiroki. The three of them shared the other room because they weren't as highly ranked as Sai and Daisuke were. Their existences and luxury of living depended on how well they preformed in front of Danzo. Sai and Daisuke were performing the best and so they got to live the best. _

"_No, he didn't. He said he was going to take a walk around the complex and be back eventually. What if someone bought him on accident?" Hiroki said as he clung to Satoshi's arm. Hiroki's small body and light blue, nearly gray eyes, mixed with dark black hair made him a rare case of beauty. Personality wise, he was very much like Satoshi, timid, but completely obedient. The problems that made him a lower level than Sai and Daisuke were that he showed too much emotion. Satoshi and Kaito both had similar problems. But one of Hiroki's redeeming qualities seemed to be the fact that he could play the violin masterfully; a music lover would pay large sums of money for him especially with such emotionally vivid eyes._

"_Danzo wouldn't let that happen." Sai said as he took the lead. "Any purchase has to go through him and we all know that Kaito was the least trained of the five of us. He wouldn't sell Kaito unless the person paid not only a large amount of money but was also a veteran in training." Daisuke nodded; he knew all of what Sai said had been true but he couldn't help but think that Sai knew much more than he was letting on. _

_Sai opened the door for their private classroom; the five of them were far more advance than the others so their education was taken to the top priority because of how easily they could all be sold. Daisuke had learned when he was fourteen that the only reason the five of them had been picked was because of their aesthetic appeal; the fact that they behaved well was a plus. They just had to make up a reason when they were picking so the other children wouldn't catch on and would work harder to please Danzo and that woman, Koharu._**(3)**

_The four of them entered the room and Sai shut the door behind them, standing in the back beside Daisuke. Danzo was standing in the front of the classroom but all of them noticed right away there was something off about him; his cane was stained red and so were his hands, he also was sweating, looking very much exhausted. Daisuke glanced over to Sai and saw that he was shaking with fear but he kept a calm face; whatever had happened in here, Sai must have seen it. _

"_Daisuke." He froze but then turned his head towards Danzo, who was looking at him as though he had been pinpointed for some reason. He tapped his cane against the floor and Daisuke knew that was a signal for him to come to Danzo, which he did without hesitation. Now was not the time to appear weak. "Daisuke, open that cabinet, will you?"_

_He turned towards the only cabinet in the room; he knew it was full of random school supplies which was why he was questioning Danzo silently in his mind. He could not object though. He walked over to the cabinet and opened it; as soon as he pulled the handle of the door, there was a weight that pushed the door open and it slipped from Daisuke's hand. Kaito's body slumped out of the cabinet onto the floor, if Daisuke hadn't backed up as soon as he saw the body, Kaito's corpse would have been atop him. Daisuke bit back a scream of terror when he heard Kaito gurgling; he was frozen in his spot as Danzo came up behind him. _

"_This is what happens when you try to escape from here." Danzo said as he lifted Kaito's head from the floor with his cane, showing the extent to which he was beaten. His pale skin was covered with dark, purple bruises and deep crimson gashes. Blood was drying, creating a brown, flaking mess as he coughed up more, making it fall from his cracked lips. His brown hair was matted with blood, turning the hair a dark color where it was pouring from his scalp. His clothes were torn and where they had been torn the fabric around the holes was soaked through with blood; a small puddle started to trail from his body, making Daisuke back up from him more. "All of you remember this sight and remember it well! You're future has already been decided! You can no longer escape from your fates and remember Kaito well because this is the last you'll see of him. When you try to escape your fate, fate comes back around on a different path; I will decide that path and he will be complete what has been laid out for him…" Everyone was silent as Danzo looked around the room, making eye contact with every single one of them before pulling a gun from his pocket and aiming it at Kaito's still gurgling form. "Death was calling to him from the day he was born." Danzo's finger clasped the trigger and Daisuke could hear the deafening screams of Hiroki and Satoshi as Danzo pulled his finger back…_

Sasuke woke with a silent scream, knocking Sharingan off the bed as he flailed from his laying position into a sitting one. He was gasping for breath and looked around the room, finding that he had just woke from a dream. He sighed a little and laid back on the bed. He had thought he had repressed that memory. Sasuke hadn't thought about the day Danzo killed Kaito since he was eighteen; two whole years ago. He sighed a little glancing at the small clock on the side table next to his bed; it was flashing ten in the morning. Sasuke sighed a little with relief; he had slept all the way through the night and probably a little longer than he should have.

"At least Itachi wasn't here to see me freaking out…" Sasuke muttered as he looked down at Sharingan, who flicked his tail in an aggravated way. "Sorry…" The cat stretched and headed towards the door, Sasuke thought that was a pretty good idea and followed the cat out of the room.  
>-<p>

"Madara, loving Uncle, why would you tell Kisame about my birthday present?" Itachi asked as he spun around in his swivel chair to face the two people who were standing behind him. Kisame and Madara both tensed up at the strong glare he was giving the two of them and Madara slid so he was standing slightly behind Kisame.

"Ah, well! That's…Um…Kisame! Old sport! Go on and tell Itachi!" Madara shoved the black man forward and he looked down at Madara like he was an escaped mental patient. When Uchiha Itachi glares in such a fashion as he was doing currently, a person is supposed to run away or roll over and expose their soft underbelly.

"Uh…Technically Itachi, I do kinda have to know about this because I'm your bodyguard. Since whatever Madara did to get that kid is shady and totally under the category of backdoor business it would be beneficial for me to know who exactly it is when I'm crackin' skulls…If they try and blackmail you or whatever the case may be." Kisame said as he cracked his knuckles for emphasis. Madara gave him a thumbs up but Itachi didn't look any less angry when he stood up and approached the two of them. Kisame could have swore he saw his entire life flash before his eyes.

"_Sir, there's a call for you on line three from Oto Corps." _The intercom crackled and Itachi turned back towards his desk, glaring once more over his shoulder before sitting down at his desk.

"Thank the Gods…" Madara muttered. He looked over at the pensive face of his nephew and swiped the phone from his hand, taking the call instead. "Ah, Orochimaru…No this isn't Uchiha Itachi, it's me, Uchiha Madara, Chairman of the Board…Ah yes, it is a pleasure for you. Isn't it? Though, I believe my dearest, sweet little nephew informed you that we would be the ones to call you, I mean it's only been one day and there is so much for us to consider…Expect a call in the next few days, goodbye." Madara hung up quickly and patted his nephew on the head before grabbing his cheeks like one would do to a small child. "See how much Unkie Madara loves you? I talked to that scary snake man and everything."

Itachi batted Madara's hands away and actually started to pout for a brief moment before realizing Madara might grab his face again. "Don't suck up to me, uncle."

"Hm…His rage has lessened." Madara muttered rubbing his chin as if he was observing a wild animal. "Tell me something dear nephew, did your lovely new pet fulfill his nightly duties? Because if he did, he must be a shit lay."

"Out of my office." Itachi said, in a still controlled voice but the way he pointed at the door revealed how angry he actually was. Madara smirked a little as he moved closer to his nephew, even having the gall to sit on his desk so he could lean in and look Itachi more in the eye.

"You didn't sleep with him, huh? You're such a softy. I'da fucked that boy senseless." Itachi shook his head and Kisame just stood in the corner awkwardly. Sometimes he wondered about Madara; the man was obviously insane yet he somehow managed to become the Chairman of an entire company.

"Yes but that's you and this is me." Itachi muttered as he sat back down in his chair pressing the button for the intercom. "Konan, if Orochimaru calls back say I'm indisposed or whatever clever lie you can come up with."

"_Yes, sir." _Came the crackle and Itachi glanced back at the two who were still insisting on loitering around in his office.

"May I assist you somehow?" He asked Madara who seemed to smirk at him like he was a small child who had just asked a dumb yet amusing question. Itachi eyebrow twitched with annoyance. Madara was treating him like child again, he always did that whenever he knew it would piss Itachi off the most. And that seemed to happen a lot when he was asking questions of his uncle.

"You're no fun today." Madara insisted. "That boy of yours needs to start fulfilling his nightly obligations."

"Don't make me call security on you." Itachi threatened as he felt another completely reasonable urge to throw something, namely Madara, out the window. "I have done it before, I will do it again so stop harassing me."

Madara spun Itachi's chair around and sat down squarely in his lap, straddling his waist so he was face to face with his nephew. He pressed his lips dangerously close to Itachi's ear and when he breathed out, Itachi shuddered slightly. Kisame only stared muttering something about Madara being 'fucking insane for violating Itachi's personal space'. But it seemed that while Itachi was pinned down by Madara, the only thing that seemed to exist in his mind were the two of them and the window in which he was going to shove Madara through.

Itachi squirmed, trying in vain to push Madara off his lap. It was just awkward that his uncle was so close to him, practically kissing his ear. He could feel every breath against that delicate skin and what pissed Itachi off the most was the fact that Madara seemed so amused by his reactions. He chuckled dryly into Itachi's ear. "You were always so easy to stir up." There was something about the way Madara phrased that comment that made Itachi tense up. Like he was trying to remind Itachi of something that he wouldn't remember without Madara's help. "But that's what makes you so fun Itachi…Just like…" Kisame seemed to notice the discomfort and almost fear Itachi was feeling because the man wasted no time pulling Madara off of Itachi and setting him down in a chair on the opposite side of the room as him.

They all sat around Itachi's office in silence as they all seemed to process what had just transpired between the three of them. Itachi glanced over at Kisame, silently thanking him with a small nod which Kisame returned. Both of their attentions turned towards Madara who was smirking wickedly at Itachi. "I just had a devious thought." They both tensed a little bit. "You can say Sasuke is my illegitimate bastard child, they'll slander me senselessly but I'll do anything for you Itachi…He looks enough like me, in case you haven't noticed, and I think people would believe it. That way he wouldn't have to be stuck in your house all day without you. We can say he's coming to intern here…Since I'm his 'father' after all."

Random was one of the many words that seemed to pop into Itachi's mind as he heard his uncle's plot spill from his mouth. But, the idea in itself was brilliant. It would allow Sasuke to interact with people. Itachi also knew he would not be home often so having homework and classes would keep Sasuke very busy and probably make him feel much less lonely.

Though, Itachi knew, Madara had only suggested it in this moment of awkward silence because he was trying to clear the air. He knew that he had crossed the line, even though Itachi wasn't sure how, but the uncomfortable feeling he got had to have meant something. For now, he planned to ignore it.

"To tell the truth, I had been thinking about enrolling him in college under a false name…I think it would be good for him to be social with more people than just me since I'm not exactly a social butterfly myself…" Itachi said as he turned back to stare at his computer screen. "But I don't know how educated he is; he seems detached from people as well so I don't know how well it would go."

"Ask him, my dear. He may be completely up for it. You don't know if you don't try, besides I think that's a better idea than mine."

"Smash them together." Kisame said suddenly. "Suggest college to the kid and then if he's all for it, then enroll him as your cousin, Itachi, Madara's son. I can see this working quite well. Though I do believe you'd have to tell Sasuke to act like he knows who Madara is better than most people do…"

"Not necessarily. I can see it all now; as a child he was raised by an impoverish mother who was so bitter than I loved and left her that she cursed the child she had with me yet cherished him all the same, like he was the last piece that was keeping my memory alive. But one day when Sasuke turns eighteen his mother is struck ill and dies, leaving on a note with the identity of his father, moi. **(4) **And for two years of his sad little life he's been searching high and low for me until one day, he sees my face with a caption that reads the very name his mother scribbled before dying. He pokes around for answers and comes up with my home address where we are tearfully reunited!"

"How do you know that Daisuke's twenty when I don't?" Itachi asked as he turned, raising an eyebrow at Madara. The Uchiha paused a little, turning a little serious as he glanced at his questioning nephew.

"Because, I filled out the paperwork; his age was listed." Madara stated calmly as if it were completely obvious. Itachi seemed embarrassed for nothing thinking of that answer himself.

"Right." Itachi seemed completely satisfied with the answer and turned towards his uncle, smiling a little bit. "As dramatic as that whole monologue was, I think it's actually a believable story. Nothing like a little drama to get the press to feel sympathy for you and him…If they even catch wind of it…"

"They always catch wind of it. I can't even fart**(5)** without them covering it." Madara muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest and huffed a little.

"As true as that may be, let's try to keep this as low key as possible. They might think it's weird that Sasuke is living with me instead of you." Madara shrugged a little bit at that.

"Not really, I'm old, you're young and his 'cousin'." Madara made proper use of air quotations as he talked about Itachi. "Why would they think it's weird that Sasuke would rather hang around with his younger family members? I mean if I had to pick between hanging out with myself or with you, I'd pick you every time. I'd be insufferable." Itachi rolled his eyes at that statement, a small smile cracking the corners of his face.

"Well then, it's decided. I'll speak with Daisuke tonight and see what he wants to do." Itachi muttered as a reminder bubble popped up on his computer screen saying he had a meeting in five minutes. He stood up and turned towards the other men in the room. "We keep this on the down-low. We don't tell anyone about Sasuke's past or who he really is; if anyone tells the press the truth, we'll be screwed. All our reputations will be shot and ran through the mud; we'll also all probably go to jail." Itachi cleared his throat as he glanced into Madara's eyes, the comments were mostly for him because of how powerful a man he actually was. The entire company rested on his back. "For all of our safety, no secret leaves this room. Agreed?

"Agreed." Both Kisame and Madara replied with a nod. Itachi nodded back and headed out the door to the meeting with Kisame following right behind him. Madara sat alone in Itachi's office for a moment before smirking to himself; that last comment sounded so evil somehow that it was resurfacing all kinds of deliciously brutal memories for him. He stepped out of Itachi's office and into the hall, smirking like a madman as he passed the doors and people in complete silence.  
>-<p>

**1. "I never took you for a gamer." Neither did a good portion of my audience…Probably... The reason why Itachi is a gamer is really quite simple; Itachi's twenty-five, relatively anti-social in the sense that I can't really see him going out to nightclubs or parties(unless work related), and he needs some way to blow off steam and nothing does that quite like blowing zombies' heads off. Plus…Hitoko-sama loves games, they're so fun! Therefore he will be nerdy like me! :D  
>2. Sucking on a guy's finger: As weird as it sounds, this actually seems to be true. I mean I haven't gone around sucking on people's fingers and charting their reactions but it seems pretty accurate for the people I have done it too…And no, I know what you're thinking! I was not trying to have sex with them, I was experimenting!<br>3. Koharu- In the Manga she's one of the village elders. In this she will be like Danzo's assisting presence. Homura will probably pop up eventually as well. He's also in the manga…  
>4. Moi- this is the French word for Me, it is pronounced as such: Mw-ah, like MWAHAHAHA!<br>5. Who else laughed a little when Madara said 'fart'? I practically died with the giggles. xD**

**Sasuke: How long were you expecting to write this?  
>Me:...Not as long as I took. I had been trying for less than a week...It took like nine days.<br>Sasuke: Maybe if you didn't flip between Facebook and Youtube when you write; you wouldn't have taken soooo long.  
>Me: Then help me focus! I have a short attention span!<br>Itachi: There's no help for your kind.  
>Me: Thanks for the encouragement Itachi. I always knew I could count on you.<br>Itachi: I do what I can.  
>Me: Well, I'm off to work on another fic because you know how guilty I feel when I don't update. Until next time, I LOVE YA GUYS AND THIS WAS HITOKO-SAMA!<br>**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wooo, next chapter of this! Hurray, I'm finally able to write for it. Oh the joy I feel! Anyway, Regular PV…blah, blah, blah…Enjoy.**

Sasuke sighed as he got up from his spot in the newly named 'entertainment' room. At first it had really captured his imagination. Sure, he had seen the occasional movie and played the occasional game when Danzo had let them but this room was a pure paradise for obsessions of that kind. The word obsession may have been to strong to use but it seemed as though it was a slight obsession for Itachi; Sasuke began to wonder what else he could have had that would have spoken more about Itachi's character.

All he knew about Itachi so far was that he was exceptionally kind, may have been easily influenced by decision or pressure of his elders, greatly generous, and somewhat of a prude, yet the man oozed sexual energy as though it had been repressed...But, he wasn't exploitative. Those things made for a general, all around, good person. But, there was something about Itachi he had not seen; everyone has their secrets. And Sasuke began to wonder what exactly Itachi's were. Though, it seemed, Itachi would eventually begin to trust him and with this new found trust secrets would come flowing from his lips. That, however, may take months of Sasuke kissing his ass and proving just how good he was. He wanted answers now, and he didn't particularly care how he got them.

It wasn't that Sasuke wanted a reason to dislike Itachi because, at this point, even if he was some weirdo who liked to dress up like a baby, he deemed it better than living with Danzo. There were limits in which he could handle, of course. There were other reasons, besides the detesting and loathing of his previous owner, as to why he would not have sex with him or want to stay with him for that matter.

It could be said that Sasuke's previous owner was the complete opposite of Itachi; he was both repulsive and repugnant, everything he did was for a goal, Itachi was selfless towards him, there was just something about the previous man that made Sasuke want to run for the hills and hide himself. He was just so…All around bad. When he had kicked his previous owner in the balls to get him to leave Sasuke alone it was more out of self-defense than malice. He would have been raped if he had allowed the man to touch him any farther. Sasuke wouldn't have been able to live with himself if that happened; his body would have been disrespected to the fullest degree. He had a feeling that Itachi wouldn't treat his body in such a manner, it would be temple-like to him. Which was fine with Sasuke, if Itachi finally managed to get over his inhibitions and actually make love to him. But that could wait for later; he wasn't particularly bothered by Itachi not sleeping with him, though it would be nice since he was actually attracted to Itachi.

Sasuke walked out into the hallway; perhaps he could finally do some house exploring. He went down the stairs and into the hallways where Itachi had showed him the basement, which was creepily lit and just looked like a bad place to be. That was probably where Itachi kept some stuff he wouldn't want Sasuke nosing around in, even though, he had said, the whole house was up for grabs. He got to the bottom of the staircase when Sasuke heard the garage door open; Itachi was back. He looked at a clock on the wall and it was ticking away pointing out it was actually half past six. Sasuke, for some reason, felt a little embarrassed. He had been watching movies since he first got up…They had just been so addicting. And it seemed like Itachi didn't have a single movie that wasn't stupid; it was like Itachi knew what he would like. Or maybe that they had the same taste when it came to entertainment.

Itachi walked into the kitchen and saw that Sharingan was in his usual place; his food dish. The cat gave a small mew of acknowledgement as Itachi bent down to pet him behind the ear. He set his briefcase on the counter and sighed a little. It had been a very long day.

"Welcome back." Sasuke said as he entered into the kitchen. Itachi smiled over at him; usually the only one who greeted him was the cat. It was refreshing to have someone actually acknowledge him verbally. His mother and father never did that as a child, especially not his father. He was always far too preoccupied with this or that to be bothered with Itachi's arrivals. He only cared about the boy when it came down to school work, which was perfect anyway so it didn't even need to be monitored. Sasuke was bringing a warmth into his house that he usually only felt from Madara…Which wasn't the greatest place to receive comfort.

Sasuke was distracted when he saw Itachi after such a long time; he looked amazing. Sure he had seen him in a similar outfit just yesterday but it was good change that Sasuke couldn't help but stare a little. Itachi noticed that the younger boy was staring at him but he pretended not to; the boy was getting lusty, the look in his eye revealed it all. He needed to introduce the idea to Sasuke and make sure that he was on board with the plan; he couldn't do that and get good results if the boy was too distracted.

"Sasuke…" Itachi's voice trailed a little and the younger perked up, looking at Itachi in the eyes. The older smirked and walked over to him, cupping Sasuke's cheeks and planting a small kiss on the boy's lips. That small touch sent fire through his veins; he almost stumbled backwards from the head rush he got. Itachi had kisses that could kill gods; they were just plain powerful. "I have a proposition for you…"

"Oh and what is it exactly?" Sasuke was hoping that 'proposition' was a euphemism for sex. He wanted Itachi so badly at this point his body was starting to betray him; he could feel his arousal brushing the pants he was wearing as it came to life.

Itachi noticed the flushed color Sasuke's face was getting and couldn't help the electricity shooting down his spine. This body was dangerously adorable. He was just too cute and perfect to even put into words. He leaned down and gave Sasuke another kiss, his lips lingering longer on that perfectly shaped mouth; it accommodated Itachi's lips like no one else's had before.

Sasuke moaned openly in an attempt to fuel Itachi's actions; this was far more about just pleasing Itachi. It was about him too, his pleasure. Itachi wove his fingers into Sasuke's hair; it was soft, smooth on his fingers like high quality silk. Sasuke whined when he felt those fingers brushing through his hair and rubbing his scalp; they were warm, with such a comfort to them.

Itachi knew he was supposed to be telling Sasuke about what he had planned out for him but it was becoming far more difficult to do so when the boy was sucking and licking at his bottom lip like it was a sugary treat. Itachi was slowly loosing his grip and eventually, he knew, he would get swept away by the storm that was Sasuke.

"Sasuke…" Itachi sounded completely wanton and the younger shivered at the tone; it was extremely arousing to hear someone that submersed in their need.

"Itachi, please…" The begging of Sasuke's voice broke Itachi out of his lust induced stupor. He needed to focus, even if his need was starting to grow more and more uncomfortable by the second. Itachi mustered up the largest amount of control he could and pushed Sasuke away from him; it wasn't a hard push it just backed him up so Itachi could have more room to breathe.

Sasuke nearly pounced on Itachi in the moment; he did not want another moment to slip away again but from the look on Itachi's face he knew it had. He mentally cursed but tried not to act completely angry towards the man. But if this became a vicious cycle, he would have to take their sex life into his own hands, whether Itachi wanted to or not.

"Sasuke, I actually have a real proposition for you; it's not some kind of complex metaphor for sex." Sasuke had been able to figure that much out on his own; he rolled his eyes a little before Itachi sighed. "Listen, I'm gone a lot because of my job and I don't want you to be alone a large portion of the day. It's boring. So, I've been wondering if you would like to attend a small, private University."

College? This was the proposition? Sasuke had never seen anything like this in his future. He had always planned to be someone's pet, not actually do anything with his life. This was an opportunity he would have never been allowed to have with Danzo; he barely finished high school level classes under that man. But that had been no matter since whatever he didn't learn from Danzo, he could read in a book. "Well, I wouldn't mind but I don't know if I'd be able to get many classes. My education…Let's just say, was poorly executed."

"You seem smart to me." Itachi said. "But no matter, there are tests you can take to see where you place. And if you cannot perform well then I can get you enrolled in a community college or something." He stretched a little. "However, we have to approach this a certain way. Since, no doubt, you were sold into this life and are technically not acknowledged in society as a real person we have to give you a back story."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Itachi had thought this through; usually when it came down to situations like this someone would do things without thinking of the consequences. Itachi was planning this all out now and working on the smaller, more important details. Sasuke was slightly impressed; he knew Itachi wasn't an idiot but even this was quite the feat. "What did you have in mind? Because I don't doubt Danzo could give you fake documents about my identity."

"I'm actually letting Madara handle those details. He told me that my mission was to introduce the idea and the back story to you. So far you're on board which means the details of your past life come into play. Obviously we cannot tell people about where you actually came from." Itachi muttered a little towards, looking kind of angry but then the look faded as he glanced over to Sasuke. "If we did, we'd be arrested for trafficking. However, we can always lie. As dangerous as it seems this lie may be able to save us a good deal of hardship, especially since Madara and I are in the public eye…Especially Madara, he can barely sneeze without the press being all over him. I'm actually surprised he's been getting away with certain things for so long…"

"But isn't this a little dangerous? I mean, I don't want to smear your reputation through the mud because I want a higher education, or you know, get you arrested."

Itachi smirked as he glanced over at Sasuke. "Oh don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Since my father would not play along at all; I will not bother to ask him if he would lie about you being my brother, he wouldn't say and would probably call the police. So, Madara has taken it upon himself to become you're new father."

"Wait a second…" Sasuke muttered holding up his hands so Itachi would slow down a little bit. "So the man I met yesterday, who is your uncle, is going to pretend to be my father? I don't see how people are going to believe this."

"Easy." Itachi said with a small smirk. "Though you may not think so, you and Madara look very much alike. The resemblance between you is quite strange but works very well in our favor. Madara is going to make an announcement to the press about finding his bastard son after twenty years; you're going to be that son. We've made up a story for it and everything." Itachi flung a small envelope on the counter and Sasuke walked up and grabbed it. Itachi nodded for him to open it and he did. A blue, very heavily scent letter was inside. The writing was obviously female, being far more free flowing and generally neater than a man's. "This is the letter containing the identity of your long lost father…Madara."

"What story did you have in mind?"

"Madara is a known and admitted playboy; he's had more than his share of lovers here and there but so far none have come forward with an heir or any child for that matter because Madara is very careful. However, more than a few people have come forward claiming to be Madara's son; he DNA tested all of them, none were ever a match. I've given Madara some of the cells from my cheek and he's snatched a couple hairs from my father since it will guarantee a match.**(1)** The data will be falsified but it will get you and automatic in to the Uchiha family."

"Very clever." Sasuke said with a smirk. "Who knew you and Madara were so quick on your feet."

"When you're an Uchiha it pays to be quick otherwise someone might try to take you down." Itachi muttered. "But that's a conversation for later. Back to the original point. Your mother in his façade is dead; you may make up any disease or accident you deem necessary. Madara said cancer would be a good bet, something that builds up sympathy."

"Why would I want to build sympathy?"

"For the press; when Madara finally announces his discovery the press are going to be all over him and you. They're animals really but they love a good sob story, plus it will slightly save Madara's reputation since it will seem that he cares dearly for his bastard son who's mother died of cancer." Itachi replied offhandedly. "Anyway, this is the general outline of your story. You may add details whenever you want but you're going to have to remember them." Sasuke nodded. "You lived an impoverish life with your mother; she resented you for being the son of Madara because he left her but that didn't mean she still didn't love you. When you were eighteen she died leaving you this letter." Itachi grabbed the letter from the counter to make his point. "From then on you've been looking for Madara; you found him on the cover of a magazine or some kind of newspaper article. Madara DNA test you against his own and you were a perfect match."

"I think I got it…But when does Madara want to make this public?"  
>-<p>

"_**Breaking news today as it is announced there will be an Heir to the Uchiha Madara's Software throne. It had been discovered that Madara has an illegitimate child named Sasuke; DNA testing has been conducted and they are a match. More on this story after this small break from our sponsors."**_

Not even a day after his conversation with Itachi did Madara publicly announce his 'findings'. It was an extremely stressful and trying time. And Itachi hadn't been kidding when he said the press would be on top of them. He had been in the car with Madara to go to a small press conference and on their way they had been bombarded by a team of cameras and people. Sasuke had so many pictures of himself taken that he didn't even know what to make of it; the flashes of lights had practically blinded him. And what did Madara do? He swore at everyone and threatened to run them off the road.

At least Madara had been protective of him; he acted like Sasuke actually was his son. Hugging him and even giving him a small kiss on the forehead. He even broke down in tears for the cameras; if Sasuke hadn't have know better he would have thought this man to be an actor, not some software genius. He played his roles flawlessly, giving a similar performance each time, making some of the women in the crowd swoon over his kindness and the men look at him with awe and aspirations.

Itachi had been to all of the conferences as well because they also seemed to be very interested in what he thought; he had kept all of his responses formal, nothing to personal about the matter. The press ate it up like it would breathe new life into them. Itachi rolled his eyes and was actually the one who ended the conferences every single time. It seemed as though he was looking for visual cues from Madara and picked up on subtle gestures within a moment's notice.

Sasuke had dazzled them as well; he had played off of some of Madara's techniques hurting himself somehow so he could easily produce tears in his eyes as he recounted his terrible experience without a father and with his mother who resented him. More than a few members of the press cried along with him and when they were done he would just dry his eyes and receive a hearty pat on the back from Madara who would smirk at him with some amounts of wickedness.

"You're a natural!" Madara exclaimed when they finally got back into the car. Sasuke smirked a little at the praise. It was true enough; he was a master of deception now. "I would be proud to call you my son." Madara got onto the road. He glanced over to Itachi who was sitting in the front seat and smirked. "So my lovely children how goes the not so public part of our plan?"

"Better than anticipated." Itachi replied. "Sasuke got into the private university I attended and with a large donation I was able to bypass a few of their requirements; Danzo's people were able to provide very good false documents."

"Usually when people like that have been in operating illegally for such a long time it means they're very good at what they do my precious nephew." Madara turned his gaze back towards Sasuke who was sitting very comfortably in the back seat. "So Sasuke, dearest son, have you decided on a major?"

"I don't know yet. So far I've signed up for some of the more basic classes like Literature and Composition. I'm assuredly taking Calculus; then maybe an introduction to Calculus based physics after I take Algebraic physics." Sasuke said with a shrug; Madara glanced back at him again with a slightly surprised look on his face.

"Sounds like you want to be an engineer**(2)**." Madara elbowed Itachi affectionately. "It's like a little version of you, don't you think?"

"Yes but I don't think Sasuke is going to become an electrical and computer engineer**(3)** like me…Or double major for that matter. I nearly killed myself in college with a schedule like that." Itachi glanced back at Sasuke. "If you want to double major as an engineer do electronic and mechanical engineering**(4)**. They're a far better combination than I did."

"Well here's a suggestion for you; since you'll no doubt work for me at some point, take business classes and as many languages as you can fit into your schedule. They come in handy when dealing with foreign business partners. I would recommend English."

"I already speak English." Sasuke announced with a slight smirk. Madara's mouth practically fell of his face.

"What? You speak English? I can't believe Danzo actually taught you that."

"He didn't. Well, not a lot of it. I went through two years of it under one of his tutors then pursued it on my own accords; one of the boys I lived with spoke fluent English. I taught him Japanese in exchange." He shrugged again and Madara bit the knuckles of one of his free hands with a shaky breath.

"My baby boy's a genius!" He said in a strained voice. Itachi couldn't help but roll his eyes at that, yet he was impressed with the volume of knowledge Sasuke had already collected on his own. He had a feeling Sasuke was going to do very well in a college setting since the boy seemed very well adapted to learning. "So when's my baby's first day?"

"Today actually." Itachi muttered as he looked at the clock in Madara's car. "He has about an hour and half before his first class starts; the press conference took longer than expected." Madara smirked a little bit as he pressed down on the gas.

"Itachi you should know by now that I'm never late for anything important." The car accelerated forward and Sasuke found that he actually had to brace himself. This man, who had seemed only slight insane to Sasuke before, was now showing he had the makings of a lunatic. He decided that he'd rather be late than have Madara driving like an escaped mental patient any day.-

Sasuke was handed a cell phone and a hefty wad of bills before Itachi and Madara sped away. The phone was from Itachi; the money, Madara. It was obvious what they were for, he just didn't think he was going to get this stuff right off the bat. He repositioned the small bag on his shoulder as he looked through the contacts on his new phone; it was a touch screen and actually a very nice gesture from Itachi. The money was too considering Madara had little to no ties with him at all. He placed the money in his pocket as he entered the campus; he had gotten the tour a few days earlier and knew exactly where to go.

As he walked he scrolled through his phone, adjusting settings, and doing whatever else he felt like. He noticed he had a list of contacts; technically it couldn't even be called a list since it was only two people long. Only Itachi and Madara's numbers. And he doubted he would call Madara for much so that practically left Itachi. He shrugged a little to himself; it didn't matter much. He didn't doubt that some people would try to befriend him and he would gain a few extra numbers. And sure enough as he barely set foot on campus, he received many stares, most of them from women who whispered and giggled as he past. Some of the men stared but most of them turned away when he past. Sasuke didn't care though which seemed to draw even more unwanted attention from the women.

Sasuke decided he would focus on the campus and not worry about the other students until he actually got into the classroom. Not that it was a bad thing; the campus was beautiful. The dorms were all done in red brick with large trees dropping their beautifully colored leaves onto the green grass covering it in a blanket of color. The actual buildings were large, the fronts of them were glass windows so one could peer right into the hearts of class room; it also gave the rooms a romantic glow from the natural light. The wind blew past Sasuke's face making him feel the slight, bitter chill of the encroaching winter; it was still a month or so off but the environment was letting him know.

He got to the English building with ten minutes to spare and headed up the stairs to his first college class. He didn't really know what to expect since he hadn't even taken a real high school class. He sat down at a table close to the back of the room and hoped no one would try to communicate with him. He had a feeling that Itachi had done this to not only further his education but to also make him feel more normal; sure, in theory, it was a pretty good idea. It also got him out of the house and actually doing more than watching movies. And Sasuke was happy to do it because it made Itachi happy, which was his overall goal as a pet, to please his master. And who knew, perhaps all of this time apart would actually cause Itachi to feel more of an urge to touch Sasuke. It was a great hope for him because he was actually starting to become a bit sexual frustrated because of that gorgeous man.

Students filed in quickly after a certain point and Sasuke was happy to see no one was trying to sit by him. A woman walked into the room and started to set up everything. She walked back to the door to close it when a boy rushed in; he looked flushed and was panting. She raised an eyebrow at him and he averted his gaze and looking up into the rows of seats. Sasuke noticed quickly that the seat next to him was the only one left. He mentally sighed. The boy, who he now saw very clearly to be a blond with blue eyes, walked up the aisles of seats and sat down next to Sasuke. He was silent as the woman started to introduce herself and the class. Sasuke blinked a little; he didn't particularly care about what the woman was talking about since she hadn't even introduced the books they were going to read yet. Other students were leaning back in their chairs, staring around the room, and even sleeping. It reminded him of the classes he took under Danzo. Sasuke rolled his eyes; perhaps this university would be far more similar to him than he thought.

The blond boy was staring at him, with slightly narrowed eyes. Eventually he was getting so close to Sasuke that the boy was about to snap right in his face but then he pulled back as if he had a sudden realization, pointing at Sasuke like he had discovered a lake monster. "I know you! You're Uchiha Madara's son, Sasuke."

He thought about a few things snappy things he could say back to that. It was obvious who he was, his face had been all over magazines, the television, and news papers. It was actually kind of surprising that the blond didn't realize it sooner. Sasuke, against his more harsh nature, bit back the angry comments and nodded. "That's right."

"Wow, you really do look a great deal like Madara, though if I had to say so, you kind of look strangely more like Itachi. You also have a more similar demeanor to Itachi as well; Madara is more of a bubbly yet abrasive kind of person." Now that caught Sasuke's attention. He spoke like he actually knew them on a personal level; Sasuke turned towards him and he was smiling brilliantly at him. He held out his hand and Sasuke took it. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto; I'm the son of Namikaze Minato, a soon to be business partner of your father's. Akatsuki Corps and Kohona Enterprises are going to be merging soon." That would explain it. He had probably met both Itachi and Madara at some point because of his father.

"Uchiha Sasuke, obviously." The shook hands and Naruto's smile got a little broader.

"So are you actually going to take over the family business when old Madara kicks the bucket?" Sasuke shrugged. He guessed if he had to he would let Itachi figured it out. But he couldn't exactly tell that to Naruto. It would seem slightly weird if he let his 'cousin' control everything about his 'father's' business.

"Don't know." Sasuke replied in a very laconic fashion.

Naruto seemed annoyed for a moment. "All of you Uchihas talk the same, you know that? All laconic and mysterious with more than a few hints of arrogance. Yet at the same time when you actually do open your mouths to say something it's a work of brilliance. Why can't there be some kind of middle ground where you actually talk like a normal person?"

"That would depend on your definition of normal, Dobe. As far as I can see the Uchiha family wouldn't exactly be considered the most normal of families. We live in the eye of the public; lionized by those who are under us. If we don't think calculatedly about our speech then it can be construed with some connotation that is not part of the original intent. If that were to happen, the public would reject us as a cancerous undesirable causing the foundations of our lives to crumble underneath our weight." Sasuke replied with a shrug.

Naruto was smirking like a cat who had eaten the canary. "Well Teme, people say that you can tell a lot from what people do and how they speak. You speak wonderfully and have a concise control of your languages which construes the feeling that you may indeed be hiding something. Yet, you also speak highly of your family and the responsibilities society has branded on you. And since you're here in a college classroom and not vacationing in your father's house it means you actually want to do something with your life. Congratulations you've made a friend out of me." **(5)**

It had been a weighted trap, one Sasuke had managed to escape. Naruto had baited him with that slightly aggravating comment to see what he would do. And lo and behold Sasuke was able to keep himself calm and not get into a screaming match with this guy. Perhaps he could be friends with someone like this; the blond seemed slightly crafty, cunning, much like a fox. But there was something about his personality that he liked besides the craftiness; there was a warmth to him that he had never really felt before. Sasuke smiled a little as Naruto leaned over to grab Sasuke's schedule.

"Besides this class, we also have Calc, an intro to physics, and Business Communications together...Our entire schedule is the same. That's kinda cool." Sasuke felt something he had never felt before; a strange sense of hope. He hoped that his newly founded friendship wouldn't fall apart because it would be extremely awkward to see him constantly in the classes they had together. And with the way his schedule was and how the days worked, he really would see Naruto almost every day. "Just curious but are you going to be an engineer?"

"Maybe, I'm just testing the waters right now. If I'm good at it and I like to do it then I will; if I don't then whatever. I'll just become a business major or something."

Naruto nodded. "I know that feeling. I actually didn't want to go to college but since my brother screwed around his entire life, all of my dad's pressure to be successful was kind of dropped on me. Not that I mind too much, I'll be happy to work for him." Sasuke was surprised. People didn't usually open up to him that much or that quickly. Perhaps this was just a quirk of Naruto's personality or maybe he just trusted Sasuke because of the similar backgrounds they seemed to now share, even if Sasuke's was a lie. "You know I'm kinda glad we're going to have all our classes together; otherwise I'd probably totally flunk Calc. I took a refresher course last year and let's just say…It wasn't my greatest moment."

"_Oh joy."_ Was all that Sasuke could think. He had a feeling now that Naruto was going to be, as his previous peers had called it, 'the questioner'. A person like that was generally confused by most things, asked questions frequently, they still managed to perform well but had a few snags here and there. Sasuke had detested, no, loathed the kids who were like that and now his new, and perhaps, only friend was like that. He was doomed.

"But don't worry. I tend to pick things up pretty quick, studying is the only problem. You seem like you'd be able to reign me in cause I tend to get distracted easily." Sasuke nodded secretly thanking whatever god was looking out for him. Maybe this was not going to be as bad as he thought. "So what're ya doing after class? If you want we can go grab a bite to eat since, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Eh sure, why not? Madara practically slapped me in the face with money before he dropped me off." Sasuke could sarcastically think that this was not the way to build a healthy relationship but shook himself of that thought. He nearly slapped himself; he was was even starting to believe Madara was his father. He must have been going insane.

"Good, good…Say Sasuke, could you loan me a couple bucks?" Sasuke stared at the blond for a few moments before shaking his head. Perhaps this was going to be far worse than he ever could have imagined.  
>-<p>

"_**Back to you Yuko."**_

"_**Thanks Tenchi. Today's top story has all the makings of something that could be called truly miraculous. Uchiha Sasuke, as pictured below, has come forward claiming to be the illegitimate child of none other than the famous playboy, Uchiha Madara, the Chairman of the Board for Akatsuki Corps, Japan's number one software company. It has been confirmed with DNA testing that this newly found son is actually, well, his son. From what we know Sasuke has led a hard life, here is what he had to say before he finally got to meet Madara in the flesh."**_

Orochimaru spit his tea onto the table as he finally glanced at the screen. It was him, his previous little pet who rejected him. And he was a missing heir to the Uchiha empire? Orochimaru couldn't believe it yet he could see it. One of the reasons he had chosen the boy was because of his looks; he was strikingly Uchiha. He had very much wanted the boy to be an Itachi replacement since he had become obsessed with the very lovely CEO when he first broke into the business. However, 'Sasuke' as he was being called now, wasn't exactly cooperative. But now the boy's looks made perfect sense; he did remind him a little of Madara. He continued to watch the news program and nearly threw his cup at the television screen; there had been nothing about the club in which he had been sold, nothing about Danzo and his shady dealings, absolutely nothing.

He felt anger burning through his veins but there was also a hint of desire. If he were to capture Sasuke and then kill of both Madara and Itachi he could easily assume control via Sasuke and his ties to the company. He laughed a little as he took a sip of his tea. Orochimaru's phone went off beside him, the tone annoying him more and more since it was interrupting his time for plotting. He glanced at the caller ID and he hit the small green button before putting it up to his ear. "What could you possibly want?"

"_Such a kind greeting, and a good evening to you too." _

"What is it? I have no time for your random calls, I am no longer a customer at your place of business." He snapped annoyed to receive such a call. After this he may have to snap his phone and get rid of it depending on what they wanted.

"_You've seen the news, right?"_ Orochimaru glanced at his television and rolled his eyes.

"Of course." He muttered. "Now spit out what your real purpose is."

Orochimaru heard the most sadistic and evil laughter coming from the other line and he even got chills down his spine. _"I only want Daisuke to suffer like he deserves…" _There was a pause on the other lines as the shuffling of papers could be heard._ "The DNA test is a fake, he is not Madara's son. I thought since you're a man of business you can add that to your extensive repertoire of blackmail. I do not doubt Madara and Itachi will bend to your every will so the secret will not get out. I've already faxed you copies of the false documents to use as proof."_

Orochimaru hung up and started to laugh a little. Oh how fun this would be. He would not only get his precious pet back but maybe even add Itachi to his collection of beautiful things. Orochimaru licked his lips as he thought about all of what he'd be able to do with this power. One thing he would love to exert over Itachi was control and show him just what a power house he could actually be, the boy had blown him off for far too long. It was high time he did something about it.

He picked up his phone again and dialed his trusty secretary's number. "Kabuto, come over right away. I have much to discuss with you." He ended the call with that and started to laugh. The laughter was so hearty and filling that it made Orochimaru just giddy to think about how everything was starting to fall in his favor. Today the Gods were smiling at him, tomorrow, they would be offering him their thrones.

**1. One of the reasons Madara had to snatch hair from Fugaku and compare it with Itachi's DNA is because parents and children share exactly fifty percent of their DNA. One half per parent. If he had just compared Itachi's with Madara's DNA there would have been less matching, identifying it as an obvious fake.** **  
>2. Engineers have to take A LOT of math to be really good at what they do, especially if they go into stuff like chemical engineering which incorporates chemistry, both inorganic and organic, regular physics stuff like force equals mass times acceleration(it's really not as simple as that), and the application of calculus to equations; according to my physics teachers if air resistance is there in a problem it becomes a cubic function…How fun is that? Not very.<br>3. Electrical Engineers are the people who study the flows and patterns of energy; they're also try to make more efficient sources of power. Computer Engineers are the people in charge of testing, evaluating, and sometimes even creating software for computers…Also we finally get a glance into what Itachi kinda does besides being a CEO.  
>4. If you're curious look them up. I'm got a fanfic to write!<br>5. I know what you're thinking, Naruto seems a little smarter than he should be. But that's okay, technically from what we know so far we can assume here that he has been well educated because of his father's financial standings; we also know Naruto is good at reading people and making friends.**

**Itachi: Congrats, you actually managed to finish this chapter before Christmas.  
>Me: I know! I got some mad skills.<br>Itachi: So that's what you're calling it?  
>Me:...You're so reassuring sometimes Itachi.<br>Itachi: I do my best. This was Hitoko-sama  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Another chapter for your pleasure. I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited. :D Regular PV! I hope y'all enjoy it.  
>-<strong>

Naruto was like no person Sasuke had ever met before. His kindness was something to be admired; he was just so different. Everyone who had been his life previously was either extremely cold, hard, and just so exploitative that it disgusted him. It was almost a welcomed relief to have someone like this in his life. It was like everything was finally starting to change for him, he was becoming a functioning normal member of society. His past meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. He supposed, maybe one day, he could look back on what had happened to him and accept it, but until then, he had to just take his life one day at a time.

The blond was practically dragging him down the street with his eagerness. It seemed that Naruto liked having people around him, especially new people. He liked making friends, Sasuke guessed. He was like his completely opposite. Naruto was vibrant, loud, sweet, and just an all around good person. Nothing like him, Sasuke knew he was cold, a bit icy at times, and quiet. That didn't seem to detour Naruto at all, it was like he was taking Sasuke as a challenge. He wondered if this had been one of Itachi's main goals from the start, make him find people who could chip away at his exterior and make him feel like he should; an actual person, not an object. He had mentally and verbally thanked Itachi for all of his hard work and sacrifices but he wanted to show his more than that, give him something he deserved, physical affection.

Though he respected Itachi's distance from him while he adjusted, he wanted the man very, very much. He didn't know why but Itachi's voice lit fire in his veins, his touch made him shiver, there was something so utterly alluring about the man. He had such a yearning for him, he just wanted to reach out and caress him. He wanted everything that was Itachi. He had a feeling that his entire day could be brightened by just one kiss from him, just a soft touch of lips; there was an energy about him that made Sasuke swoon.

"Hey, hey! Do you mind where if I pick where we go for lunch?" Naruto asked as he turned to face Sasuke. The boy had to pull himself out of his mind quickly so nothing would show on his face. He blinked a little and shook his head. "Awesome! I promise I'll pick somewhere worthwhile. You still haven't seen all of what this town has to offer you!" Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke's sleeve and started to pull; the raven was about to berate him but just decided to let the blond lead the way. He supposed he would be following him anyway so why not just have Naruto tug him along? "Sasuke, we need to hang out sometime so I can show you everything. You'll just love it here, I know it."

Sasuke wanted to sigh and say something snarky but the way Naruto's excitement lit up his face was just so...Adorable. It was like a child leading its parents around at a theme park. He almost couldn't bring himself to pop the blond's bubble. He rolled his eyes a little and the blond pulled him a little closer so they were walking side by side. Naruto hadn't let go of his sleeve but instead his hand was falling more and more lower so his fingertips were brushing the softness of Sasuke's hand. The raven almost laughed, Naruto was so trying to make a pass at him right now. But somehow Sasuke didn't mind it; it was almost cute. Sasuke decided, maybe, just maybe, he should do something a little daring. He clasped his hand around Naruto's and allowed the blond's fingers intertwine with his own.

Naruto pulled away in a second. "AH! What the hell are you doing Teme?" Sasuke just smirked at him. Naruto couldn't deny that he had a crush for long, his face and the blush it held was a dead giveaway. The raven turned away from him and continued down the street, with Naruto running to catch up with him. "Teme! Wait up! You don't even know where you're going!" Sasuke slowed his pace and allowed the blond to catch up to him and he stuck his tongue out at him childishly.

They walked for a few more blocks, Naruto spouting off about anything on his mind and the raven just nodded his head and continued to keep pace with the blond. Naruto, he figured, was probably the most open person he had ever meet. In only a day he had been given so much random information about the blond that Sasuke didn't know how he was going to process it all. He had learned that Naruto had a brother named Kyuubi who was apparently a party animal and that Itachi, who somehow got mentioned, used to go to college with him before Kyuubi dropped out. They had also gone to the same high school together, and apparently were best friends. Information like that made Sasuke more than interested because, for one, it was about Itachi; and the other reason being he didn't know much about the man. Sasuke also wondered if Naruto wanted something similar between them to happen. He wouldn't mind having a friend in this place, it would give him someone other to talk to than Madara and Itachi.

"We're here!" Naruto said as he grabbed the door handle. Sasuke looked up at the sign; a pizza parlor? Sasuke had heard of this pizza from others at the compound but had never tasted it for himself. He was slightly curious about it. "Yo, Earth to Teme. Are we reaching you?"

"No Dobe, perhaps you should speak louder. I'm deaf on this side." Sasuke said as he leaned down a little, cupping his ear as he got closer to the blond.

"Bastard." Naruto muttered folding his arms across his chest. There was a slightly pouting to his features and the raven couldn't help but roll his eyes and hold the door open for the blond. Naruto smiled a little and went inside, making a motion for Sasuke to follow him. The raven complied and they were seated right away.

The place was only buzzing with soft amounts of life. Not many people were inside, but it was only one in the afternoon during the week so it made sense. The lighting was kind of dim, giving it a more romantic yet home kind of feel. The walls weren't painted with bright colors but more like a dull kind of crimson. The ceiling was painted with stars and splashes of the milky way. It was strangely beautiful and calming. A woman with dark black hair came up to the table, a bright smile on her face.

"What can I get for you today?" She said practically eyeing Sasuke without hiding any of her desire. The raven paid her no mind, looking at Naruto. The blond seemed a little annoyed and that pleased Sasuke for some reason. He had a feeling that Naruto could begin cock blocking any woman or man trying to 'win' his affections.

"We want the special." Naruto muttered quickly and the woman frowned a little, making Sasuke smirk a little. The blond put a strange emphasis on the 'we' and the woman looked at the two of them before smiling again. Sasuke didn't mind at all if people thought they were lovers, in fact, it would detour people quickly. The woman backed away from the table, still smiling a little as she returned to the kitchen.

"Dobe, if I wouldn't have know better I would have thought you were a little jealous of the stares I'm getting." Naruto paled and then flushed a little.

"It must be your imagination Teme..." Naruto said, still having a bit of color residing in his cheeks. "I have a feeling that people hounding you like would be annoying, so I put an end to it." Oh the Dobe was priceless and adorable. Sasuke didn't say anything else and Naruto just sank lower in his chair. "I hope you don't mind that I ordered for us..."

Sasuke shrugged a little. "To be honest I've never eaten pizza before."

Naruto's jaw practically dropped off his face. He scooted his chair closer to Sasuke's and grabbed onto the raven's shoulders, shaking him so violently that Sasuke actually had to grasp Naruto and push him away. "WHAT THE HELL! HAVE YOU NEVER LIVED?"

"Apparently not." Sasuke muttered as the blond calmed himself. He knew that certain things about his past would be shocking but it wasn't really his fault. It was Danzo's. He never let them do anything normal people would do. He repressed them and now was the perfect chance for Sasuke to finally live his life. He just wasn't sure how to do it. What was normal and who set the parameters for it? He glanced back over at the blond.

"What the hell did you do before you came to live with Madara? Live in a refrigerator box?" Naruto asked; there was a slight teasing in his tone and Sasuke frowned a little.

"I had a very protective mother." Sasuke muttered. It wasn't like he could tell Naruto to the truth about his life. He needed to keep playing the new story as much as possible because it was the only thing he could tell people. The last thing he needed was to screw Madara and Itachi over; and not to mention Danzo. That man was very scary when crossed. "She barely let me leave the house, let alone actually have a normal life. She was also very restrictive of my diet so, yes, I've never eaten anything that wasn't considered healthy."

Naruto laughed a little. "Wow, doesn't she know food like this is good for you soul?" The sides of Sasuke's mouth started to pull upwards, a small smile gracing his lips. "She sounds like the kind of person who doesn't know how to enjoy life, even its most tiny moments. I have a feeling she controlled you a lot, you're probably not going to get that from Madara, he's the epitome of a free spirit. And with my help, you'll learn not to be such a tight ass! I mean, there's so much you probably haven't got to do, we need to get started right away."

Sasuke felt strange when Naruto smiled at him. It was such a warm, caring look that it almost shocked him. Naruto was like Itachi. He was kind and generous. They had just met and it felt like this was going to be one of the best relationships he was ever going to have. He had had his doubts about the blond but now he was looking forwards to this friendship.

"Here you go..." The woman was back with what Sasuke could only guess was a pizza. It was steaming, and the smell, Sasuke had to admit, was amazing. Naruto took a slice and Sasuke, while hesitant, copied the motion. This would be his first time eating something like this, it was a strange experience for him. When Sasuke took a bit his taste buds were overwhelmed with the sweet, tangy tomato sauce. He had always had a love for tomatoes and this was quite possibly the best flavor combination he had ever had. The cheese and the vegetables and the meat mixing in his mouth tasted like nothing he had ever enjoyed before. He didn't even mind that it was greasy, it almost made the experience that much better. To Hell with Danzo and his diets this was what Heaven must be like. How had he lived before this?

"What's the verdict?" Naruto asked with a cheeky smile.

"There are no words to describe how much I now love pizza." The blond smiled again and they continued to eat their lunch. It was dotted with small conversations. Naruto seemed eager to know as much about Sasuke as he could and the raven felt somewhat obliged to give him something. Even if it was a fake story. Sasuke was truly enjoying himself; the Dobe was quite fun to be with.

"Well, well, well." Both Naruto and Sasuke looked up and the breath caught in the raven's throat when he saw who was approaching their table. The good time he was having was completely ruined now. It was Sai. He smiled at the two of them and grabbed a chair from one of the other tables and pulled up next to them. "Naruto, what a surprise."

Sasuke blinked. Naruto knew him? How was that possible? He thought that Danzo never let anyone leave the compound. He tried to hold back his surprise but it took even more effort to suppress the glare that wanted to spring up. He supposed since Sai was Danzo's favorite that he would get much more freedom than any of his other trained pets. But that didn't mean anything; if Sai had direct access to Naruto it could spell danger.

"Oh...It's you Sai, how pleasant." Naruto said as he smiled at the blond. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke had to hold back a laugh. Naruto didn't seem to like Sai that much, which meant maybe he was safe, for now at least. He hoped the blond would just dismiss him and they could get back to their lunch, but the other raven wasn't moving.

"I'm meeting up with Sakura and Ino. They're famously late, yet again. When I saw you I thought I'd finally have a chance to escape the boredom of waiting. I hope you don't mind..." He glanced over at Sasuke who was about ready to get up and throw fists with him.

Though Sai and him had history and could have been considered friends at one point, Sasuke could no longer stand him. After Kaito's death Sai became obsessed with being Danzo's favorite. He could tell it was out of fear but even still he was betraying the rest of them. He couldn't be trusted anymore after that. Sasuke's eyes narrowed a little as Sai looked over at him, placing a finger on his lips, feigning a look of contemplation.

"Hey, I've seen you before..." Sasuke bit the inside of his lip, this could be dangerous. One tiny slip and the two of them would be exposed as frauds. More than just them were in jeopardy. He hoped that Sai was able to realize it. "You're Uchiha Sasuke, Madara's son, aren't you?" Sasuke almost sighed with relief, at least he knew what was on the line. Which meant for now, Sai wasn't going to be a big deal, just another obstacle.

"That's right." Sasuke said. He wanted to keep his conversation with Sai to a minimum; he could barely stand him and it felt wrong to even be engaging him in conversation at all. There's no telling what Sai could imply. Sasuke kind of felt that Naruto may be a little too dense to get it if Sai was starting hint at instances, but not even the Dobe could remain oblivious forever. He would start to question and that would lead to too many problems for him, Itachi, and Madara. He couldn't allow their lives to crumble just because of this asshole.

"Wow, it's kinda like meeting a celebrity. Every news channel is all a buzz about you. Though, it's quite interesting to see you here with someone like Naruto." Sai said as he patted the blond on the head. Sasuke couldn't suppress the glare this time.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, pointing an accusing finger in Sai's face. The other raven looked a bit startled at the outburst but Sasuke smirked. Oh that Dobe, he was a firecracker. "Are you implying Sasuke shouldn't be friends with me because I'm not some hoity-toity rich kid that grew up with everything? News flash for you Sai, Sasuke is a regular person just like everyone else and he can be friends with whoever he wants. He's an Uchiha, and what about it? If I want to be friends with him and he reciprocates those feelings then who's damn business is it other than ours?"

"Calm yourself dickless, you know how I like to tease..." Sai said as he placed his hand on top of Naruto's. Sasuke's mouth nearly fell open with shock. Sai...he had feelings for the Dobe. He wanted him! Sasuke almost couldn't believe it. He had to compose himself before something might slip out and be shown on his face. Naruto pulled his hand away and glared a little.

"Naruto! Sai!" Sasuke was not in the mood for further interruptions; he wished that everyone but Naruto would just go away. He had actually just started enjoying his new life...

Two girls came up to the table and both of their eyes landed on Sasuke before he could do anything about it. One of them was a blond with green eyes, wearing a dark purple dress. The other was a shock of pink. Her dress, her hair, the only thing that wasn't was her eyes, which were a bit of a lighter green color. They both sat down, in close proximity to Sasuke. Sai seemed amused by the entire prospect because he smiled at Sasuke, it was strangely sinister.

"You're Uchiha Sasuke! Wow, you're much more handsome in person..." The blond girl said with a giggle. "I'm Yamanaka Ino and this is Haruno Sakura." Ino pointed to the pink one sitting next to her and Sasuke blinked a little. So these were the people Sai had come to meet? It was strange to think that he could hang out with people who were just so...Normal. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He wondered how long it took Sai to actually assimilate into society. They had practically been trained to act but even Sai had his surface cracks. And a bad personality...The thing that surprised Sasuke the most was the fact that he had friends. Sasuke noticed the women both staring at him expectantly, even though only a few seconds had passed since she had made her comment.

"I bet it is." Both of them seemed even more charmed by Sasuke's cold demeanor because they began encroaching even farther. They would have been on top of him if they moved even an inch more. Sasuke felt his pocket vibrating before ringing. He checked the caller ID and excused himself, mentally thanking his lucky stars that he had an excuse to get away from those man-eaters. They were actually a little overwhelmingly terrifying.

He snuck off to a hallway that was right before the restaurant's kitchen to answer his phone. "Hello?"

_"Sasuke where are you?" _Itachi's voice rang in Sasuke's ear and the boy suddenly felt weak in the knee. He slumped up against the wall.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, I'm out to lunch with someone I met today."

_"It's quite all right. Just tell me where you are and I'll come to get you." _ He was glad Itachi wasn't angry with him and he complied with his master's wishes. He hung up and sighed a little glancing over at the table where Naruto was getting bombarded by those two girls. The Dobe had some interesting friends, he wondered just how many he was going to meet if he continued to hang out with the blond.

He was about to walk back when Sai came out of the shadows and pushed him against the wall. Sasuke's mouth was covered by Sai's hand and the raven leaned in, breathing right next to his ear. "Alone at last, eh Daisuke?" His hand muffled the slight whimper that escape Sasuke's lips due to his head being slightly smashed against the wall. "Here's some words of advice for you, stay away from Naruto...His tight little ass is mine." Sasuke elbowed Sai in the chest and shoved him against the opposite wall.

"I don't think Danzo would be too pleased to hear that." Sasuke muttered angrily.

"If you even dare trying to tell him Daisuke, I will ruin you. I believe the police would love to know about your actual past, don't you?" Sai said with a smirk. "I care nothing about Danzo, he is only a burden to me and if you ruin what I have here then I will repay the favor in full, understand?"

"As far as I'm concerned Naruto is all yours." Sasuke said. "I met him today and I just want to be his friend, nothing more. So fuck off." He pushed off of Sai and returned to the table where Naruto glanced at him with an almost expectant gleam.

"So, who was it?" The blond asked as Sai came wandering back up to the table. He noticed that Ino was continuously glancing over at him and it slightly disturbed him. That poor girl, she actually managed to fall for whatever Sai called charms.

"Itachi."

"Is he cutting our lunch date short?" Naruto asked and the blond instantly felt like he should retract the comment. Three pairs of eyes were upon them within the moment and Sasuke could feel the heat and anger coming from Sai's. Oh why did the Dobe not think before speaking? The word 'date' implied so much and girls especially loved hearing it when two men were involved. And Sai, well, Sai was just after Naruto's nuts so it was obvious he was going to be a bitchy about it.

Sasuke heard a sniffing sound behind him. "My baby's already starting to make friends..." No one but Madara called him 'baby' so far anyway, and Sasuke turned around to see that it was indeed Madara standing right behind him. He put a strong hand on the raven's shoulder. "I'm so glad. I thought you'd end up like me...Relying on Itachi for companionship, like a puppy or something."

"Hn." Itachi had been standing off to the side of his uncle but now came to stand by the table where Sasuke was seated. He had his arms folded across his chest until he saw a blinding flash of blond move quickly into them. Sasuke blinked a little as Naruto and Itachi embraced. It was slightly strange. "Hello Naruto, how have you been?"

"I'm pretty awesome year round." Naruto said with a smile as they pulled back from each other. "What about you Itachi? We haven't been seeing you that much since Kyuubi left on vacation. Amsterdam this year."

"Ah, so that's where he is. I half expected him to be dead since he is usually very good with returning my calls." Naruto laughed. Sasuke was a little shocked at the scene playing out before him. It seemed that Naruto may have known Itachi a little better than he thought. Just how long had they known each other? "So are you the one who has whisked away my cousin?"

"Oh Itachi, you know me, no man can resist being whisked by my siren song." Itachi smiled a little and patted Naruto on the head. There was such an amused sparkle in his eye. Sasuke couldn't help but taste the bitterness of jealousy hitting the back of his throat. Itachi was his master and he desired to be the only one who could please him.

Sasuke caught Sai's glance at him, a smirk tilted on his lips. Could Sai tell he was jealous? Or was he just scoping Itachi out? The man was, no doubt, a sweet piece of eye candy. Sakura and Ino were practically drooling at the sight of him. Madara made a motion for Sasuke to stand and the younger raven complied, standing right next to the Uchiha. Madara hadn't removed his hand the entire time and it was starting to freak Sasuke out a little. There was something sinister about the smallest gesture from this man.

"Itachi, we don't have all day. I'm not getting any younger." Madara said as he pointed to his face. Though Sasuke thought it was slightly creepy to think, Madara looked good for his age. He didn't even have wrinkles or a gray hair. It was like he was magic. He wondered if all Uchihas kept their looks as they aged.

"Shut up Madara, no one likes you." Naruto stated and Sasuke had to bit the inside of his lip from laughing at the sudden out burst. The nonchalant way in which Naruto had said that comment was forcing to rip laughter from his chest. He didn't even know why it was so funny. Even Itachi seemed to be highly amused by the comment.

"Hn. You're becoming more and more like Kyuubi by the day..." Itachi muttered with a slight bit of affection in his tone. Madara stalked over to the blond and poked him square in the forehead.

"Lies. The fruit of my loins is proof enough of that." Madara said as he pointed over to Sasuke. His mouth was slightly open in a look of disbelief. Madara had just called him the 'fruit of his loins'. No one EVER wanted to be referred to as that.

Sasuke's thoughts stopped reeling for a moment as he focused on one of them. He felt...Embarrassed. They weren't even his real family but at the same time whatever came out of Madara's mouth still made him want to hide in a dark corner. Maybe all the lies were starting to effect his mental health...

Naruto chuckled softly. "Well Madara, I can't deny that you've got the good." His demeanor became a little more arrogant at that comment and Sasuke wished his could pull the blond aside and tell him NEVER to imply anything like that about Madara again. It was just creepy. But then Naruto said, "But they just went bad long ago." Madara's mouth practically fell off his face at the comment and Sasuke almost couldn't control the fits of laughter that threatened to take over his frame.

"Fine, I may be getting on in my years but I have an heir now and he can take over my empire and my reputation." There was a strange pouting quality to which Madara was talking. It slightly amused Sasuke to hear something like that coming from such a proud man.

"No." Sasuke said calmly.

"Okay Itachi it's up to you now."

The younger Uchiha rolled his eyes and shook his head at his uncle. "As much as I would hate being your replacement, I will have to firmly reject the position so you do not pursue it any farther." Itachi looked over at the blond and smiled a little again. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to cut this wonderful meeting short. We have many important matters to tend to...Besides, Madara might have a heart attack if he continues to be thrown into a fit every time you say something." Naruto couldn't control his laughter and Madara glared at him.

"You two are just...Mean." Sasuke tried his best to suppress the urge to hide. There was something about Madara that was just so...Embarrassing. Sasuke shook his head a little as Madara put his arm around the smaller raven's shoulder. Naruto and Itachi said their goodbyes before leaving together.

When Sasuke got in the car with them, everything that had been good about the previous situation had dissolved. Itachi looked slightly tense and Madara's knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he started the car. Sasuke was slightly afraid to open his mouth and comment. "Sasuke." The tone of Madara's voice made his entire back tense up as he sat straight up looking into the rear view mirror at the older man's eyes. "What was that guy doing there?"

Sasuke knew right away that he was talking about Sai. There was no doubt about it. Sasuke shrugged a little. "I don't know. I was completely surprised to see him. I didn't think Danzo would let any of us roam around freely...But then again, Sai was always his favorite. I don't doubt he's done more than a few undesirable things to gain some amounts of independence."

"...Gross." Madara muttered as he turned onto the road. "That may be true and completely disgusting but you need to be careful with that boy. He could ruin us..."

"I wouldn't worry about him too much. I have more dirt on him as he has on me. He's actually done more in the participation section of the illegal selling of humans. And I can only guess he's hungry for freedom so he wouldn't do anything to compromise it. I know Danzo wouldn't hesitate to kill Sai if something ever got too out of hand." Sasuke muttered. "Besides, he said he wouldn't try to 'ruin me' unless I tried to get with Naruto, which I have no plans of doing."

Both Madara and Itachi looked at each other for a moment before the older Uchiha turned his eyes back towards the road. "That's all fine and good but that still doesn't mean you can't be on your guard. He may be passive right now but I wouldn't wait around for him to make the first move..." Madara said as he flicked on his blinker. "Danzo may want to know what his 'favorite' is up to..."

"No you can't!" Sasuke sudden out burst made Itachi's eyes narrow slightly. He hadn't liked or trusted Danzo from the start and this was only proof that he may have done more to Sasuke than train him. Madara eyed the smaller raven in the back seat for a moment. "...Just don't fly off the handle like that. Sai knows his place and how replaceable he is. He won't do anything too stupid. I can deal with his threats here and there. Let me handle him."

"Fine Sasuke...I'll leave this matter in your capable hands." Madara said with a shrug. "But if something happens, I'll bring that little shit to his knees so quickly that Danzo won't even have a chance to take a crack at him." Sasuke tensed a little. Madara seemed like such a carefree and calm person but this side of him, Sasuke felt, he would be seeing much more of it. He could feel that there was something inside of this man that was all around evil; a darkness too strong for such a body to contain. Sasuke hated to admit it but he was slightly fearful of him. He would never cross Madara. "So who wants ice cream to celebrate my baby's big day?"

As much as Sasuke wanted to believe that he was getting closer to understanding Madara and Itachi, that set him back a little, pulled him a little further inside himself. What if Itachi was menacing like Madara but hid it with a well crafted demeanor? Sasuke slunk down in his seat and glanced out of the window. He could feel both Madara's and Itachi's eyes on him but he couldn't look into them. He couldn't let them know how vulnerable and scared he actually was of their mysteriousness. No one ever liked to be thrown into the darkness.  
>-<p>

After Madara bought them ice cream, Sasuke found out he didn't much care for it. He knew he didn't like sweets but he wasn't completely sure what ice cream was or what it would be like. Sure he had seen it in some of the movies he had watched in Itachi's entertainment room but he didn't know what it tasted like. He couldn't help but start thinking he was repressed like Naruto had said, but it wasn't his fault.

He had dropped them off and Sasuke quickly walked inside, leaving the Uchiha to be slightly puzzled with his behavior. Sasuke was about to head up the stairs and Itachi felt a sudden and urgent need to reach out, to hold the boy to his body.

"Sasuke..." A shiver of pleasure went up the younger raven's spine when he felt Itachi's strong hands sliding up his back. He was embraced from behind and he felt that weakening knee sensation taking over him again. He loved and hated how Itachi could turn him from solid to mush in a matter of seconds.

He stepped back from the stairs and started to slowly turn in Itachi's embrace, allowing himself to be face to face with the breathtaking man. A blush started to creep up his pale cheeks when he saw a sincere look of concern staining his master's eyes. Itachi pushed a stray hair from Sasuke's face and leaned in. "Don't worry Sasuke...I promise I won't let anything happen to you again." Sasuke felt the calming strokes of Itachi's hand and he couldn't help but lean into them, loving the affection in the simple touch.

Itachi pushed Sasuke's face back up to his own and proceeded to lean forward, planting a soft kiss on the younger boy's lips. The softness turned to need before Sasuke could even register what was going on. His hands slipped into Itachi's hair, bringing him closer as pleasure and need shot up and down his spine with dizzying force. He was fully pressed into the body in front of him because of his much his knees were shaking. There was such a ferocity in his need, he could feel it in Itachi as well. They had been putting off their desires for far too long.

The Uchiha sucked Sasuke's bottom lip into his mouth, nibbling and sucking it until he was moaning. The tone of his voice was practically pleading for Itachi to do more and the Uchiha couldn't dip his tongue into that moist cavern fast enough. Everything was moving so quickly it dizzied Sasuke. He started to block out everything around him and calm the static in his mind. The only thing that existed was him and Itachi.

Sasuke was becoming excited very quickly. His body was responding to every touch, every flick of Itachi's tongue. He didn't even mind the prospect of being stripped right there and being taken on the stairs. Itachi backed him into a wall and before he even thought about it, Sasuke threw his legs around Itachi's waist. One of Sasuke's hands had fallen so it was hanging limply over Itachi's shoulder but when he felt the first power, pulse of pleasure rocket up his spine from Itachi's grinding into him, it was fisting in the Uchiha's shirt. Sasuke pulled out of the kiss to moan and arch, rocking to meet the needy thrusts. It was all blurring around him. He had to close his eyes and while they were closed he could feel the sealing of Itachi's lips on his own again.

He pulled away from the kiss, noticing how labored his breathing had actually become. Itachi didn't seem to mind since he was attacking his neck, leaving deliciously painful marks all over his skin. It felt so good, he wanted to be owned by Itachi, to be marked by him. The entire prospect of it aroused Sasuke to no end. He felt such a burning need inside of him that could only be filled by Itachi that if the man tried to reject him again, he would HAVE to take matters into his own hands.

"Itachi...Please..." His voice was weak and it sent a jolt down to Itachi's need. Sasuke's voice was just so soft, so adorable. It almost threatened to drive him mad due to the arousal it was causing.

"Shh..." He placed his lips against Sasuke, the kisses becoming more and more sloppy as his mind started to focus of what he wanted to do. He had wanted Sasuke, but there was something about the vulnerability he saw today that made him want the boy more. It was like he was finally starting to chip away at that hard exterior. He wanted all of him, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Behind his beautiful mask was the part in which he wished to see and possess. And this was a step towards it. "Bedroom or stairs?" Sasuke blinked a little in a daze. It was like he didn't fully register the question. "Sasuke, I'm growing very..._Impatient_ so pick one."

"Bedroom." He said and when the single word was uttered from his mouth he felt Itachi set reposition him so he was being carried bridal style. His arms wrapped around the Uchiha's neck and he couldn't help the blush starting to stain his cheeks. Itachi kissed him one more time before quickly getting them up the stairs and into his room. He tossed Sasuke on his bed and the younger raven felt a sudden rush of endorphins. He could only call it lust drunk. Their movements had become sloppy, sometimes slowed, or maybe even quick and without caution.

Itachi was atop him in a moment, lips already starting to penetrated by that skilled tongue. His fingers were gripping Sasuke's clothes with such an urgent need that it was starting to excite the raven more and more. Itachi's fingers drumming and gently smoothing over his skin was almost too much for him to take. It felt so good, it filled him with such a burning desire for Itachi to do more. He started to pull at Itachi's shirt but the kissing made it difficult for him to even comprehend what he was doing. He was naked beneath Itachi and the Uchiha finally seemed to notice. He began removing his button down shirt and Sasuke almost wanted him to keep it on. The disheveled look was one that only made Sasuke's erection twitch with excitement. Itachi's hands were making quick work of his pants when Sasuke couldn't help but reach up and pull the Uchiha's long, black locks from its confinement.

The breath in Sasuke's throat caught when black waterfalls fell down Itachi's shoulders. He pushed some of it out of his face with a smirk and the blush on Sasuke's face was tomato comparable. He was finally seeing Itachi in all of his true glory. And he couldn't deny at all that this man was quite possibly one of unmeasurable beauty. All of Itachi was truly magnificent.

"You're so beautiful..." Itachi muttered as he gently caressed Sasuke's cheek with his thumb. "So unbelievably beautiful...Sasuke." He shivered at the lust Itachi's voice contained. Sasuke yearned to reach out and touch him; his body was like a dream, so perfectly sculpted, smooth underneath his finger tips. He was just so aroused and amazed by the sight before him that he wondered how Itachi could call him beautiful.

Itachi wanted to do so many things to that small body beneath him. The look on his face was just so adorable that if he just got to lay in bed all day and stare at him, he would have been content. But he wondered if his growing need would allow such a thing. Itachi leaned in and started to attach his mouth to Sasuke's neck again, noticing that there weren't enough marks. He wanted that pale landscape to be marred completely with the colors of their lovemaking.

His mouth lowered, trailing down Sasuke's soft skin, reaching his already very hard nipples. Itachi gave one a small, experimental lick making Sasuke shiver beneath him. He sucked the perked bud into his mouth while he pinched the other with his hand. The smaller raven was shaking and moaning from the feeling and teasing Itachi was providing him. It was just so arousing and made a deliciously addicting feeling pool in his stomach. Itachi had a far lower goal and he wanted to reach it while causing the highest amount of pleasure he could.

Sasuke let out a small whimper when Itachi released his nipples to ghost down that smooth, pale chest. Kisses and licks were littered across it, making Sasuke shake with need. The touches being placed all over his body were driving him mad, they just weren't enough. Sasuke wanted to have all of Itachi right then, he didn't even care if it hurt. But he had a feeling Itachi wouldn't allow such pain to be inflicted on him. It seemed to please Itachi to cause him all of this deliciously teasing pleasure.

Itachi dipped his tongue into the boy's navel and he whined lowly in his throat. It was like music to his ears, Sasuke's voice sounded sweetened from the pleasure dripping from it. It aroused him to no bounds. He just wanted to hear how loud and lustful such a voice could get. He continued his path lower and bypassed Sasuke's cock save for a small kiss placed on the head. Itachi couldn't get enough of the creaminess of Sasuke's soft thighs. He couldn't resist the urge to mark them, leaving heated red bruises on them. For some reason it very much pleased Itachi to see that stark redness against the paleness of Sasuke's thighs. His cock twitched with need and Itachi knew he would have to start speeding this up before the urge to just plunge into Sasuke raw became too overwhelming.

"Sasuke..." The boy shivered at the sound of his voice but he looked down at the Uchiha. His face, Sasuke noticed with a darkening blush, was so aroused and beautiful. There was a dark, lustful glaze in Itachi's eye that made Sasuke so heated that he would comply with whatever sexual desire came out of Itachi's mouth. "Turn onto your stomach..."

Sasuke did as Itachi asked and he could feel the man looming over him. It was slightly intimidating since he couldn't see what Itachi was planning to do to him. Sasuke jumped when he felt hands on his ass, massaging, kneading, rubbing. He felt Itachi spread his cheeks and he couldn't help but look back to see what he was doing. Sasuke could feel it before he understood what he saw.

Itachi's tongue darted out of his mouth and licked the pink hole. He loved the way that Sasuke's entire body shivered when he would just run his slippery appendage against his entrance. It appeared that Sasuke was extremely sensitive in this area. Sasuke was letting out such enticing sounds that Itachi could have moaned himself. Sasuke was gripping the bed beneath him, his knuckles going white as his fist tightened on the sheets.

"Itachi...Mmm.." His voice was broken up with panting and moans causing the older raven's cock to twitch. The way Sasuke moaned his name...It was just so naughty. There was such a hot coating of lust in his tone. Itachi dipped his tongue into Sasuke's hole and the boy's breath hitched in his throat because an almost pained moan come ripping out. It was so arousing to have Sasuke in this much pleasure. It had been practically ingrained into Sasuke's mind to do everything he could to please Itachi but when the switch happened Itachi couldn't help but smirk to himself. "More!" The pleading in Sasuke's voice when straight to his groin making Itachi pull back immediately.

He reached over to his side table and opened it, pulling out a container of lubrication. When the cap opened Sasuke jumped, making Itachi's eye flick with a sudden hint of amusement. All of Sasuke was becoming hypersensitive, even his hearing. The pleasure must have been running through his veins at such a dizzying pace. He dripped it onto his fingers, smearing it around so it would get warmer before slowly getting closer to that already wet hole.

When the first finger pushed in, Sasuke tensed at the uncomfortable feeling. It was actually better than he thought it was going to be. He started to relax his body and steady his breathing as it was thrust in and out of his hole with great care. After a few moments of thrusting it was actually starting to feel good, maybe a lot more than it should have, which was when the second one entered with it. Sasuke shook with anticipation. He wanted that previous feeling again, the one that made his vision blur for a moment as electricity shot through his back. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Sasuke moaned when he felt that sensation again and he could almost feel the smirk Itachi was giving him. The third finger hurt him the most. It stretched him the deepest and made him feel suddenly, extremely vulnerable. He was pulling them apart inside of him while thrusting and it made Sasuke bury his face in the pillow. The pain had dulled but it still didn't mean it was feeling as good as earlier. He was panting harshly as Itachi continued to stretch him when his vision blurred into whiteness before coming back. Sasuke couldn't contain the flooding of moans and jumbled words as Itachi thrust the finger inside of him. His body was shaking and he gripped the sheets even harder, practically screaming from the pleasure ricocheting up his spine.

"Are you ready for more?" Itachi asked as he retracted the fingers from Sasuke. The boy nodded his head weakly. Itachi squeezed more lube into his hand and covered himself with it, shivering at the cold temperature. "Sasuke...Get on your hands and knees."

Itachi was very pleased to see Sasuke do as he asked and even more so when he saw that reddening, slightly abused hole. Soon he would be claiming at hole as his own and it would be excessively satisfying for him. His cock twitched as he started to tease Sasuke by rubbing the head against him. The younger raven was just moaning mindlessly, his body still at that hypersensitive point where everything was just too much but not enough at the same time. Itachi started slowly, pushing in the head of his cock, stretching out his hole before pulling it back out. He repeated that motion until Sasuke's hips tried to push more of him in. It was a signal that Sasuke's body was ready for all of it.

When he finally got to feel Sasuke fully it was like the biggest relief of his life. Sasuke's walls were warm and tightly sucking him into their deep heat. Itachi leaned over the boy and started to kiss his shoulders and neck when he noticed how much his arms were shaking. Was it from anticipation? The pain? Or maybe even a strange sadistic pleasure of Itachi finally inside? It didn't take long though before they gave out and Itachi found himself even deeper inside the boy.

The new arch of Sasuke's back made his ass stand up even more proudly as Itachi's cock decided to bury itself even deeper. The Uchiha moaned a little at the feeling as Sasuke panted, starting to move his hips a little. Itachi grabbed onto them and steadied them. He didn't want Sasuke to hurt himself by trying to move too soon. Sasuke was still a little too tight around him, he just needed to relax a little bit more. "Itachi, please. This lack of feeling...It's killing me. Do _something_."

As much as Itachi wanted to wait just a bit longer he couldn't help but feel his own hips start to pull back, his cock feeling the delicious friction caused by the tightness of Sasuke's inner walls. The younger raven was shaking when the first few thrusts filled his body. There was a certain numbness accompanying the cock pushing deeply inside him and he knew soon that the pleasure he experience earlier would be following soon. Itachi glanced down at Sasuke's face; his lust glazed eyes mixed with his teeth biting into his already very bruised lip made the older raven start to speed up.

Pleasure struck Sasuke so deeply that he actually screamed when it gripped his frame so roughly that it made him cum. Itachi looked down at his face again and was so aroused by the look that he gripped Sasuke's hips even harder, increasing the roughness in which he was taking the smaller body. Sasuke's cock was still hard, Itachi noticed with a slight smirk, it meant he needed to continue pleasing his lovely pet until he was completely satisfied.

Whenever Itachi thursted Sasuke was practically butter underneath the pleasure he was feeling. He never thought having sex would feel so good. Itachi's cock was just so big that it was hitting him so deep and he didn't even care that he was being a little rough, everything about this entire situation was just so arousing. Sasuke arched up and he felt the hands on his hips leave him and find their way around his chest, pulling him up so he was sitting on Itachi's still very hard cock.

The new position pulled Itachi into Sasuke deeply and they both moaned when he made the move for them. He gripped onto Sasuke's erection as he started to thrust again. He used his free hand to tilt Sasuke's face towards his and their mouths glued together. The younger raven's hands were on Itachi's thighs helping him rock and move against Itachi's hips to maximize both of their pleasure. It was beginning to get harder and harder for Sasuke to contain himself. His moans were getting louder, his body moving faster against Itachi's as the need started to wrack through him. He was digging his nails into Itachi's thighs because of how good he was feeling. Itachi didn't mind at all and pulled his mouth off of Sasuke's so he could bite the boy's shoulder as a playful retaliation. He couldn't help but go back to those lips as an apology though.

Itachi noticed Sasuke's restlessness and could feel his own orgasm approaching as well. He started to thrust with all of his might, pulling Sasuke's cock in time with the movements of his erection against the boy's very abused prostate. Sasuke's mouth ripped off his own as his moans turned to screams. He was arching and squirming in Itachi's lap as the he sought release. Sasuke's body completely stilled as his mouth hung open in a silent scream as he was finally pushed over the edge by Itachi. The Uchiha panted harshly when he felt the tightness of Sasuke's entrance teasing him as it clamped down around. It pulled the orgasm from him making Sasuke's stillness break so he could shiver at the feeling of being filled.

They stayed like that for a moment, Itachi's head against Sasuke's shoulder, planting small kisses along his back as the afterglow of his orgasm died down. Sasuke pulled up a little, removing Itachi from his place inside of him before flopping onto the bed, exhausted. Itachi laid down right next to him, petting his sweat soaked hair, pushing it out of his face.

"That was incredible..." Sasuke muttered and Itachi kissed the smaller raven on the lips. There was a strange amusement in Sasuke's eyes as he rolled onto his side and gently ran his finger against Itachi's lips. "Did I please you master?"

Itachi couldn't help but smirk a little as he ruffled the boy's hair, gaining a slightly pouty look. "Maybe I should be asking you that question, pet." Sasuke's face paled a little before flushing brightly again. "Cumming twice must have meant you enjoyed it very much." Itachi muttered as he grabbed a hair tie from the bed side table. Itachi made a motion for Sasuke to come closer and the boy did, scooting over towards the larger, warm body laying next to him. "You've done very well to please me my pet."

Sasuke felt a deep satisfaction take over as he snuggled into the body in front of him. He buried his head into Itachi's chest as a pair of strong arms encircled him. There was something that made him feel so safe about those arms...  
>-<p>

**AND THAT'S WHERE I'M ENDING IT! Hurray they finally had the sex! :D  
><strong>

**Sasuke:...Am I supposed to be excited?  
>Me: Yes.<br>Sasuke: No. Only bad things will come after this.  
>Me: You're probably right.<br>Itachi: No probably about it. That's kinda how you do things...  
>Me:...You two know me so well :D<br>Itachi: If one of us dies...  
>Me: Why would one of you die? THAT WOULD BE SO SAD D:<br>Itachi:...I'm going to believe you're not going to kill one of us off...for now...This was Hitoko-sama.  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Wooo now that I'm on spring break I'm going to try my very hardest to get two updates done within the week. But we'll see how well that goes…I do have AP Calc to study for and a lot of other garbage to do. But I will make this priority number one since I can do homework the night before! Muhahaha! Anyway…Enjoy this new chapter. Regular PV**

**We wear the mask that grins and lies  
>It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes<br>This debt we pay to human guile  
>With torn and bleeding hearts we smile...<br>Why should the world be over-wise  
>In counting all our tears and sighs?<br>Nay, let them only see us, while  
>We wear the mask.<br>~Dunbar  
>-<strong>

_**~Whoa, dream sequence~  
><strong>_

_"Itachi, sweetheart." The Uchiha turned as his mother called for him. She had been gone for the past few days in the hospital but she had finally returned with something moving around and making small sounds in her arms. It was a baby, Itachi knew. His parents had already briefed him a few months earlier about it and he had been waiting patiently for the child to come into the world. He didn't know why he was so excited about it, perhaps it was because of how lonely he had been feeling. A large house with one child was a very daunting prospect. And then he would have someone knew in his life, someone who he could call his brother just as his father called uncle Izuna and uncle Madara. _

_He walked up to his mother as his father walked through the door with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder. Itachi paid him no mind as she smiled at the bundle, presenting it to Itachi. The baby's eyes were open, staring up at Itachi with such a curious gaze. His eyes were dark, matching the color of Itachi's own and so was his hair, even if there wasn't much of it. He noticed it had the nature spike Madara's and Izuna's had making him look very similar to his uncles. The infant tilted his head to the side as his clumsy arms seemed to reach out, wanting to be held by this new person. His mother smiled and led Itachi to the couch so he could hold his baby brother. She told him about cradling the head and to be very careful. Itachi made the transfer, holding the small form very gently in his arms. This was his brother, his precious sibling. He vowed then and there that nothing would ever happen to him. _

_"His name is Sasuke, honey. Go on, say hello to him. I bet he's been waiting to see you, about nine months. I bet you anything he heard you when he was still inside my stomach." Itachi looked up at his mother and then glanced back at the small form in his arms. _

_Itachi felt slightly ridiculous but he actually complied with what his mother had said to him. "Hello Sasuke. I'm glad to finally see you too."_

_The child started to coo and make happy noises, reaching up more for Itachi. The older Uchiha felt his heart start to warm at the reaction he was getting from the baby. If he was this responsive to him now, there's no telling how much Sasuke would love him when he was finally old enough to talk and follow him around. _

_"Mikoto, where is this child you promised me?" Madara said as he walked into the room. Izuna was trailing behind him, looking a bit tensed but still having his very calmed demeanor. Itachi looked up and his older uncle smiled at him, walking over to pat the boy on the head before focusing on the tiny bundle in his arms. "So this is the little one I've been waiting to see." He sat down on the floor next to Itachi and held out his arms. Itachi was hesitant to give over his baby brother to his uncle. Madara seemed to be greatly humored by that. "Already protective I see. That's adorable." Itachi ended up handing Sasuke over and Madara smiled down at the small bundle, who he rocked very gently in his arms. "I can already tell that he's going to be quite the Adonis when he grows up. Just like his old uncle Madara."_

_"If I do say so myself," Mikoto began. "he looks more like Izuna than he does like you." _

_Izuna, who had been previously out of the conversation and ignoring the baby, finally seemed to take notice of it. "I believe you're right Mikoto. He does look a bit like me. I think he would even more so if he grows out his hair." Izuna smiled at the child and took a seat right next to Madara. The man was hording the child, cooing and making stupid noises at him. Sasuke seemed to enjoy it though._

_Madara handed the baby off, finally, to Izuna who received him warmly. He looked happy, actually smiling a little bit at the infant who was enjoying all of the attention. Itachi was almost a little jealous of his younger uncle. Fugaku, Itachi's father rejoined them in the living room. His jaw was set a bit tighter than usual. No one but Itachi seemed to notice. _

_"Quite the beautiful son you've got there brother." Madara said with a slight smirk on his face. "Since you've got two now, mind letting me have one? I wouldn't mind raising Itachi." _

_That seemed to strike a hidden cord within Izuna because he paused in the small rocking motions he was making with Sasuke and then resumed as though nothing had just been said. Fugaku laughed humorlessly and patted Madara on the shoulder, coming to sit behind his older son on the couch. "I wouldn't surrender either of my sons to you, dear brother. I believe I've worked much harder to attain them both. Besides, you're still a bit young, you could easily find someone to give you an heir or two." Itachi let out a breath that he hadn't known he had been holding. Madara patted him gently on the arm, but somehow Itachi was not soothed by the gesture by any means.  
><em>

_ Madara seemed rather amused by his older brother's musings. But quickly decided to change the subject, turning away from Fugaku so he could focus on the smaller Uchiha sitting next to him. Itachi caught his uncle's eye as he chuckled a little bit in his throat. "Looks like you're going to have a bit of competition for my affections Itachi."_

_ "Not for awhile." Itachi said, without really thinking. He was known for being quick with his rebuttals because of his sharp he actually was, even for his current age of five. "He can't even talk yet. Until that day comes, I will be your more favored nephew." _

_Madara couldn't help but chuckle at the adorable display of confidence from his older nephew. "Well, aren't you the confident one. I suppose you're right though." There was a pause and Itachi couldn't help but let his gaze drift to Izuna, who had a very troubled look upon his face. He seemed to be holding Sasuke even closer to his chest, like he was trying to protect him from some unseen force. "Somehow this reminds me...Itachi, I was not able to attend your fifth birthday, much to my dismay. I, of course, am very willing to make it up to you. Tell me, what is it you want? I will try my best to attain it."_

_Itachi thought for a moment. He could really ask for anything and Madara would get it for him. Toys, sweets, anything that his heart desired. But Itachi found that he was satisfied with everything right now, he didn't want anything. Well, he did wish to hold his little brother again. "If you can get Uncle Izuna to hand my baby brother back to me, I will call us even for you missing my brithday." Madara started to laugh at the adorable statement and complied with Itachi very simple wish. He was also very amused by the emphasis he put on 'my'; already Itachi was carrying the mentality of possessiveness for siblings. Perhaps, Madara mused, Itachi was more like him than he had previous believed. _

_"As you wish, my sweet nephew." Was the last comment Madara said before he and Izuna left, mysteriously earlier than Itachi would have thought. But, Itachi knew, Madara was a busy man. He probably had something to do, like always. He had come to expect nothing more by then.  
>-<em>

_Itachi had been feeling a strange anxiety gripping him since dinner; it was now three in the morning. His parents had dismissed his unexplainable gut feelings, reassuring him that there was nothing wrong and that there was nothing to worry about. It hadn't comforted him. He may have been shooed to bed by his father around ten, even though he still wasn't feeling tired then, but he had just been laying his bed mindlessly for the past few hours trying to figure out why he felt like this. _

_The Uchiha sighed with exasperation and got out of his bed, setting his feet on the cold carpet of his floor. Itachi had been noticing that it had been more and more difficult for him to get to sleep as soon as Sasuke arrived in the house. But, he had no idea why. He almost wanted to blame the idea that something could happen to him while he was asleep that could have been prevented but that was him being naive, as his parents would put it. They had a baby monitor in the room so the first sign of disturbance would pass through them, assuring Sasuke's safety._

_That had calmed Itachi, for the first few nights at least, but now his insomnia seemed to be a normal thing. Coming and going out of the blue. Tonight was probably one of the worst bouts of it because there was such a strange sense of despair and fear. And it was keeping him awake even though there was no real reason to be afraid. _

_He got out of his bed, pulled by an unknown compulsion to move. Perhaps pacing the house silently would allow him to finally clear his head; plus he could sneak a visit to see Sasuke while he was out. That might also be able to settle his nerves. Itachi couldn't help but feel slightly ridiculous about wanting to see his little brother so much, even though that wave of anxiety seemed to be ebbing because of the idea. _

_Itachi's small hand reached out for the knob when he paused, hearing a strange noise coming from the other side, out in the hallway. The Uchiha felt his heart beat in his ears and behind his eyes because of the fear and adrenaline pumping through him. His gut, once again, was telling him that this had bad news written all over it. His parents weren't the source of that noise. And as to confirmation to that feeling, Fugaku let out a loud snore before quieting down again. It wouldn't been Mikoto either, she had to take medicine to sleep, Itachi recalled, and it always made her a much harder sleeper. She rarely ever moved around at night, let alone woke up randomly._

_Slowly, Itachi opened the door. A silhouette graced the side of the wall, opposite Sasuke's bedroom and Itachi's heart beat even louder. The door closed very quietly, almost making no noise at all. The Uchiha was hyperventilating as he drew closer and closer to his little brother's room. He shouldn't just go in, he should wake his father and have him deal with it. But what if Fugaku didn't believe him and just brushed it off as a nightmare? He couldn't risk that. Not with that thing, man, or whatever so close to Sasuke. He needed to be brave, fearless as he entered to investigate the ghostly figure stalking through the halls._

_One step at a time Itachi neared the place; his greatest fears all seemed to be dancing in his head all at once. What would happen once he entered? What if it was all in his head? So much 'what if' not enough answers. He needed to open the door to get what he wanted. Once he saw Sasuke he would either be in a complete sense of relief or he would be thrown even deeper into his anxiety ridden terror._

_The door swung, almost soundlessly, as he entered the room. All he could see was red.(1) Blood, with specks of what he could only call gray and white matter. Brains. Itachi felt as though he might vomit just the from the sight alone. But once he saw Izuna, laying there in his own blood it was like his entire body decided to shut itself down. Madara was calling behind him, the gun shot was clear enough to be heard from the study. Itachi just happened to be closer when he heard it. The older Uchiha pushed Itachi's unmoving body aside as he rushed in, grabbing Izuna's cold, unmoving form from the pool of crimson that threatened to swallow it. His body was racked with sobs as he pulled the corpse close to him, as though his warmth would suddenly bring his beloved brother back to life._

_Madara was calling Itachi's name, his hands and body now soaked in Izuna's blood, but it wasn't getting through. Itachi was in a haze, he couldn't hear, he couldn't see, he just knew. It was like his brain shut itself down because it couldn't understand what had just transpired in front of him. His uncle Izuna, who was so happy and carefree, had shot himself in the head, while Itachi and Madara were in the house. How had they not seen the signs? How had they not noticed him slipping off to do the deed? Itachi was baffled by it. _

_"Oh God...Izuna...Please...Not now, please..." Madara was begging, everything was starting to snap back into focus. But Itachi didn't know what to think, he started to make a list in his head of all the truths he knew. His name was Uchiha Itachi, he was sixteen years old, he was currently living with his two uncles; one of which said uncles was now lying in a blackened blood pool while the other desperately begged for the other to live. All of that was truth. The haze in Itachi's mind was gone. It was crystal clear what had happened. Izuna, who he loved dearly, had shot himself in the head while he and Madara were in the house, completely unaware. The reason? Currently unknown. Preventable? More than a hundred percent likely. Izuna...His youngest uncle had shot himself. Uncle Izuna...Was...Dead. _

_Those words raced in Itachi's mind as he felt a black field narrowing his current frame of vision. Overwhelmed. Itachi was overwhelmed. He fell onto his side, looking vacantly at the scene before him._

_The man, who was dressed completely in black; the disguise finished with a mask, had just taken Sasuke and left. Right out the bedroom window. Itachi laid there, still feeling the pain of where he had been punched in the stomach but it was being numbed by the adrenaline in his veins. Sasuke, his baby brother, had been taken by some unknown person in the middle of the night. No, that couldn't have been true. He wouldn't accept that as true. Itachi decided he should make a list of things that he knew were true. That way he would know what was actual fact and what was not. His name was Uchiha Itachi, he was five years old, he had two parents and a sibling. His sibling was gone though, taken by a man who was dressed in all black. _

_And as proof of that statement, Fugaku came barging into the room, a pistol firmly placed in his hand. It was cocked, poised and ready to fire. Mikoto was following a safe distance behind her husband and rushed over to the crib. She fell to her knees, screaming with anguish when she discovered that her baby, her little Sasuke was gone. Itachi still laid there though, his breath having not calmed since he was in the hallway. Fugaku came to kneel by his injured son and sat him up slowly, making the boy wince with the effort._

_"Itachi, who did this? Did you see it?" The boy just stared into the space behind his father's head. There was a man dressed in all black who had come in the middle of the night to snatch away his baby brother. But there was more to it than that, he knew it. He wasn't just a man dressed in all black, there was more details to him. He wasn't wearing a mask at all...Itachi knew that so why had he thought it before? The man was..._

_Madara had composed himself a little bit as he gripped the teen's shoulders, shaking him as a means of rousing the younger Uchiha from the current stupor he was in. "Itachi, listen to me. I need you to call an ambulance. Can you do that?" The teen just stared into the space behind Madara's head as the older Uchiha tried desperately to communicate with him. It had happened again. The cycle of terror and anguish never seemed absent from his life. Once he thought he was freer from it, it would come back around, grab Itachi by the leg and drag him screaming into another tragedy._

_ "I don't know." Was his reply. Both times it had been his reply. He didn't know how to function in the midst of a tragedy. He didn't know, he didn't understand, there were no clear cut reasons, no answers. His brain couldn't process the information because of the sheer volume in which his brain would jump from subject to subject, reason to reason, answer to answer. But none of them could be fully investigated, the leads would only come up as dead ends. _

_"Itachi...? Itachi? Itachi!" The voices wouldn't stop. They always called his name. Why him? Why always him?  
>-<em>

"Itachi?" Sasuke cried as he tried desperately to rouse the sleeping man beside him. The Uchiha was drenched in sweat, moaning loudly sounding as though he was being ripped to pieces by whatever was haunting him. But it wasn't that that had woke Sasuke, no, it was the thrashing, the constant whimpers of fear and just the sheer anguish that seemed to be filling Itachi. It freaked Sasuke out to the highest degree, he didn't know how to handle his own nightmares, let alone someone else's.

Itachi opened his eyes, jolting into a sitting position on the bed as air filled and left his lungs at a debilitating rate. Everything was all right. It was just his memories. All of that was in the past. That had been something Madara had told him to tell himself whenever he would have a nightmare. So far, it worked well to calm himself down. He let out a shaky breath before realizing that Sasuke was sitting right next to him, a fearful expression written on his face. This was probably one of the last things he needed to see, especially since this was the closest things to a safe environment.

"Are you okay?" The older Uchiha didn't know exactly how to respond to the question. Was he okay? He had been living with this for years and just dealing with it. But how did he really feel? Angry, tired, depressed...Nothing that really spelled out okay in anyone's mind. But that's the reason why he wore the mask, wasn't it? If everyone thought he was okay, then no one would have to ask and he wouldn't have to think about how much of his life really was not picturesque.

"I'm fine, Sasuke." He replied, pushing some of the stray hairs from his face. "It was just a nightmare."

There was a genuine concern on Sasuke's face but Itachi knew he had to ignore it. Now was not the time to get into all of these ugly issues. Itachi glanced at the clock, three in the morning. It was always three in the morning. Itachi laid back, opening himself up to Sasuke. The boy, not completely satisfied with the answer, reluctantly snuggled up the Uchiha. He kissed the younger raven on the temple. "You know, if you want, we can talk about..."

Talk about it. He never did want to, but there always seemed to be people ready to listen. Madara had been the person to usually talked to about his nightmares because he could understand them. He had to suffer through them too. He had lost a nephew and a brother when those incidents occurred. Madara was the only one who seemed to understand the pain, the vulnerability, everything. But Sasuke had suffered too hadn't he? And it may be refreshing to actually talk to someone other than Madara, who had the exact same things to say about it...Every time. Perhaps he would talk to Sasuke about it, maybe not now, but eventually. He would have to know sometime.

"Not now Sasuke. It's late, we need to get back to sleep." Sasuke seemed content with that since he didn't say much more. He cuddled up to Itachi's chest. The Uchiha turned a little so he could look at the smaller raven's peaceful face as he slept. Itachi knew, as always, he would not go back to sleep after the nightmare.

Softly, Itachi brushed some of the smaller hairs from Sasuke's face, letting his fingers touch the supple, smooth flesh. Every time he looked at this face, there was something fluttering in his chest. Perhaps there was more than just an attraction between them sexually. He never opened up this much with anyone so quickly. Sasuke was special. Itachi smiled and laid his head on the pillow, his eyes drooping ever so slightly.  
>-<p>

Sasuke sat in the kitchen, slowly eating a piece of toast and petting Sharingan, allowing his mind to wander. He was more than curious about what Itachi's nightmare had been about. It was eating away at him. Though it seemed rude to pry, Sasuke had dropped it at the time. And he didn't have time to receive an answer this morning because Itachi was gone by the time he had gotten out of bed. The raven sighed a little, getting up from his seat and throwing away the remainder of his breakfast. Sharingan mewed and rubbed between Sasuke's legs but the raven ignored him; he needed to know what Itachi's nightmares were about.

That's when a thought smacked Sasuke in the side of the head. The basement. The room he hadn't really looked in. There was no telling that there had to be something, besides dust and spiders, down there. Itachi may not have anything laying around in the open that would give clues, but the dank, dark basement would.

He walked through the living room to the small hallway that was adjacent to the basement. Once again he was face to face with those claustrophobia inducing stairs. The light was off at the moment but just a small flick of the switch brought it back on. It wasn't much of an improvement. Sasuke knew as soon as he descended the stairs, the lighting wouldn't even matter. But why was his body so stationary? Surely it could be fear. He could easily uncover something about Itachi he didn't want to know. That would shatter this perfect image Sasuke had of him. He didn't want that. He wanted Itachi to be kind and just, the perfection he seemed to be. A few surface cracks were fine but something that could completely shatter the glass of the picture, Sasuke didn't know if he could handle it.

And perhaps the fates were siding with him on his argument because his phone started to go off. He pulled it from his pocket and took a look at the caller ID. Naruto. He should have known. The blond was probably going to harangue him for the rest of their lives. But that was fine with Sasuke, he needed friends to look normal, to keep up the facade he, Madara, and Itachi had created. Sasuke pressed the button and held the phone to his ear, but before he could even get a single word out of his mouth, Naruto energized the conversation.

_"SASUKE! I need to ask you a serious question." _The raven had to hold the phone a bit away from his head because of the sheer volume at which the Dobe actually talked. But the sudden call and the subject it had was a bit disturbing to Sasuke. As unlikely as it sounded, Naruto could have found something out. Whether it was because of a certain bastard named Sai or not, didn't particularly matter. But he couldn't be paranoid. Naruto was dense and Sai was smart enough not to say something too incriminating.

"Screaming into my ear will not get your question answered any faster, idiot. And since you're calling and screaming it up it better be something good Dobe." Sasuke replied, shutting off the light for the basement's stairs. He walked back into the living room and sat down on one of the couches, propping his feet up. There was a pause on the other end of the line and Sasuke wondered if Naruto had hung up on him because he was getting impatient or if the idiot was deciding on whether or not his question was good.

He was about to say something when Naruto finally responded. _"Well, I don't know if this is a good question, but I was wondering; will you come get a tattoo with me?"_ Sasuke was a bit stunned. He hadn't been expecting anything like that. He barely knew the idiot and yet the blond seemed hell-bent on hanging out with him and probably doing things normal people would. _"I know it sounds a bit weird and all but I really don't want to get my first one alone. And everyone else I know is busy so...Please?"_

Before Sasuke could even really think about what he said, it slipped out of his mouth. "Is that guy from yesterday going to be there?" The last thing Sasuke needed was to have a more than healthy dose of Sai in his week. He did not want to sit there with the two of them and have Sai glare the entire time and hit on the blond, who was clearly far more interested in Sasuke. It sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen.

_"Who? Sai? Oh Hell no. We aren't what people consider to be...Super best friends. I can barely stand the guy! He's just such a...A dick. And he doesn't pick up on the fact that I really do not like him. But whatever, that's his problem. I mean he offered to do the tattoo for me but, eh, call me weird or whatever you want but there's just something about him I don't trust." _Oh that every God there ever was and will be. Naruto can actually pick up on the sketchy vibes Sai gives off. And it was quite reassuring as well. If Naruto disliked Sai that meant there would be less of a probability that he would see the bastard whenever he was with Naruto. _"I assume that means you were not charmed by Sai either?" _Sasuke chuckled a little.

"I can healthily say that I did not care for him, not a tiny bit." He heard a laugh coming from the other line and knew that Naruto was probably happy to hear that as well.

_"Well that's good news! I don't know what Ino and Sakura see in him but as long as we have minimal contact, I think I should be able to live my life just fine."_ Sasuke smirked a little at that comment and realized that Naruto really had no fears about saying things to him. It was almost refreshing to have someone who would just fly off the handle and tell what they were really thinking, no sugar coating, no fluff, all their truths. _"And also Sasuke, you have not answered my question. Will you answer to the call of duty? Which would probably consist of holding my hand while I cry like a baby." _The corners of Sasuke's mouth raised a little with amusement. He did actually want to go, besides, there was nothing to do while Itachi wasn't in the house. He didn't want to end up getting stuck in the Entertainment Room every single time Itachi wasn't around or when he didn't have class.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go. But you're going to have to give me directions about how to get there since I don't really know my way around town yet."

_"Ha! That's totally fine man, I'll just come pick you up. You just have to give me Madara's address since I only know where Itachi lives."_

"Then, Naruto, things just got easier for you since I live with Itachi currently."

_"Well aren't you fucking all kinds of spiffy. I'll be by in an hour so be ready to hold my hand."_

"I'll fill the waiting time with hand stretches so I don't strain anything."

_"Be careful Sasuke, your delicate hands may be my only hope. I'll see you soon."_

Sasuke shook his head as he hung up the phone. Naruto was so strange and inviting. He was joking around with Sasuke like they had known each other for years. And they were able to play off each other so well, it was almost foreign to the raven. Perhaps that's what real friendships were like, Sasuke wouldn't really know though. All he did know, however, was that he liked it. He liked all of this strange thing going on between them.

The raven smirked he ascended the stairs, taking some preparations before seeing the blond. He took a shower and chose his clothes very carefully. The last thing he needed was for Naruto to see the large array of marks covering his neck. As much as Sasuke hated to think it, Naruto wasn't a complete moron, he would probably end up putting two and two together eventually. And since Itachi was supposed to be his cousin, it wouldn't look good if they were having explicit sexual relations. He wished he had some kind of make-up to cover them but he made due with what he had, which was whatever Itachi had gotten for him.

Luckily it was starting to get cold enough for him to wear a light scarf, which was stripped black and white. He covered his neck with it and pulled on a light jacket. He gave himself a brief look in the mirror and wondered if he was wearing too much black. His shirt was the only thing that wasn't the color, it was a dark blue that dipped lowly around his collarbone. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his thoughts, why would it matter? It wasn't like he was trying to impress Naruto or anything. Before he descended the stairs to go out and meet Naruto, he grabbed some of the money Madara gave him. Why not come prepared for anything?

Naruto waved excitedly from the window of his car and Sasuke got into the passenger side. The blond was a bundle of energy, spouting off about anything and everything he could. It was refreshing since the days before this Sasuke would just talk to Itachi's cat. Actually having conversations with someone else was so...Nice. And they talked about the most random things since Naruto was just all over the place today. Sasuke blamed it on his nerves.

When they finally arrived at the tattoo and piercing place, aptly named Sinful Sting, Naruto almost didn't want to get out of the car. With some well placed prodding by Sasuke, he finally got the blond to suck up his nerve and get out. They walked into experiencing the buzzing sounds of needles on skin, the smell of blood and ink mixing together as permanent designs were artfully splayed across skin. It called Sasuke back to when he got his own tattoos but this place didn't feel nearly as hopeless, it was full of life, of people telling their stories as ink was marked into their skin, telling them never to forget.

A man who had multiple piercings and tattoos eyed Naruto and called him over to the currently unoccupied chair. It was black leather, and freshly cleaned according to the sterile scent looming around it. The man brought over a chair for Sasuke and the raven sat down next to the blond who looked more and more anxious as time passed.

"I'm all set when you are man, just take off your shirt and we'll get it started." The man said as he pulled the stencil from his small desk, which was covered in books of pictures and art, Sasuke noticed. Naruto nodded and took off his shirt. They lined it up along the blond's side and after a few adjustments were made, it was all ready to be tattooed. Sasuke moved the chair so he was seated on the opposite side of the tattoo artist, Naruto looked dead at him, his hand already firmly secured into the raven's. It was shaking. Sasuke couldn't help but find that slightly amusing, Naruto who seemed to be the epitome was bravery and strength seemed to be a crumbling mess when it came to pain. "It's time to do the first line...And this is going to suck, just letting you know, the ribs is a very sensitive place to get tattooed." The man said and the buzzing of the machine filled the shop, adding to the already hive like sound. Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hand even harder. Sasuke leaned in, gripping Naruto hand with his other, soothingly rubbing circles in it with his thumbs.

"Relax, it makes it harder on you when your muscles are all tight. Eventually it'll start to numb because of the endorphins but until then you're just going to have to bear with it." The raven said reassuringly. And Naruto's grip slackened within his own. He laughed a little and Sasuke eyed the blond.

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything but that sounds like advice you would give someone who's catching for the first time." Sasuke's eyes widened at that thought but his lips cracked a smile anyway, giving the blond a playful pinch on the hand because of the sheer audacity of the comment. "So, aren't you curious?"

"About what?" Sasuke replied, still squeezing the area between his fingers.

"About the tattoo I'm getting." Naruto said pulling his hand back from Sasuke for a moment before returning it after a particularly painful stroke of the needle. "You know, the meaning and stuff behind it."

"Naruto, dearest Dobe, are you going to tell me a story?" Both of them chuckled a little bit at that. But Sasuke had become curious, he hadn't really known that tattoos were a form of expression. The only reason he had ever gotten one was so that it would show who was currently owning him, nothing more. They were a symbol of servitude. However, tattoos in the outside world meant much more, Sasuke figured, since they were now so prevalent in the culture. "Yes, I do suppose I'm curious. Spin your yarn Dobe, I'm all ears."

"Well, surely you know of the folklore of phoenixes. You with the dying and becoming a pile of ash only to be reborn from same pile of said ash." Sasuke nodded. Phoenixes, the symbol of reincarnation and eternal life. Though Sasuke didn't feel Naruto as an immortality wanting kind of guy, reincarnation seemed far more up his alley. "To me, this fire bird symbolizes my past life and how I've rebuild myself from nothing more than ashes." Sasuke felt himself tense a little. Did Naruto have some kind of tragic past? Was that why he felt so drawn to the blond? Because they were similar? Yet they were still different which was why their friendship seemed so ideal, so fitting. "Believe it or not, I used to be a hated person." Sasuke didn't believe it. Naruto was well, one of the sweetest, kindest people he had ever met, how could that have been true? "Blame whatever you want for it but when I was born their was a large disaster; massive earthquake. Destroyed the town we lived in. And since my dad's business was still trying to get onto it's feet, we were stuck in the tiny town which was a very superstitious place at the time. They believed my birth was an ill omen and blamed the earthquake on me. I grew up there until I was ten; I was friendless, flunking my classes even though it was still primary school, I acted out, was teased, bullied. I thought that that was going to be my life. And then we moved here. For the first time I made friends, no one judged me because of some superstition. I was reborn, you know? Given a new chance for a life I actually wanted to live." Naruto gave Sasuke a small, sad smile. And the raven felt like he knew that pain, like he had lived it too. That truth almost made Sasuke want to break down and tell Naruto the truth, the whole truth, but he knew he couldn't. This friendship, it was all technically based on a lie. Sasuke didn't like admitting that to himself since he would have to keep an arms distance from Naruto. Everything 'personal' would be just a well crafted lie.

They sat in silence for the most part, Naruto getting so comfortable that he actually fell asleep. Eventually Sasuke roused his friend and the blond yawned, sitting up and feeling the sting of his tattoo. He would, apparently, have to come in for another two session to finish it. Joy, Sasuke thought, another two sessions of holding the blond's hand. Naruto thanked the man and before they left he was paused by a person getting a tongue piercing. The blond glanced back at Sasuke, with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You shouldn't leave this place unscathed." Naruto muttered and the raven raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what do you believe I should get? A tattoo?" The blond shook his head and pointed towards the piercer, who had finally slipped the jewelry through the hole, allowing the girl to see it in a mirror. "I'm not getting a piercing Dobe."

"Oh come on!" Naruto said with exasperation, with a slight stamp of his foot. "What are you, chicken?"

For some reason that comment caught Sasuke's full attention. There was no way that he was chicken. The raven scoffed, what was one piercing? He already had tattoos. "Fine." He walked up to the piercer, paid him in cash and sat down in the chair, with Naruto grinning madly beside him. The raven stuck out his tongue, which was cleaned of saliva, before the clamps were tightened firmly around it.

"Okay, breathe in." Sasuke took a calming breath, allowing his nerves to settle. "And out." When he breathed out he felt the sharp sting of the needle enter his sensitive organ, bringing a small whimper from his lips. Naruto stared in amazement and slight horror and quickness in which it was over. The stud was slipped into the raven's mouth and he could already feel his tongue swelling up, making a realization smack him in the head. How was he supposed to talk? "The swelling should go down within the week if you ice it properly." He handed Sasuke a bottle. "Sea salt, it'll help with the healing process. Now is there anything else I can do for you?"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. "If you get your nipples pierced, I will too."

Sasuke knew he had already dived headfirst into shallow water, why not make it even shallower? The raven nodded and the piercer seemed delighted, getting even more money out of the two of them. It was the same procedure as getting his tongue pierced, Sasuke noticed, with a sting of pain. He got his done first so Naruto would sweat in the chair next to him. Also, the piercer did a good job of blocking Naruto's view of the hickies on his chest and neck. Naruto had the same procedure repeated on him and he looked like he was about to die when the first needle entered. The raven chuckled, promptly proving he was the more macho of the two.

"Aw what's the matter Dobe? Painful?" It was a little more slurred than Sasuke had been expecting but Naruto understood him perfectly since the blond flushed up, glaring at the raven.

"Shut yer trap! That really sucked at first." The two of them, having already paid, left the shop and headed for Naruto's car.

"Eh, it wasn't too bad. But I guess for my sweet little Dobe, it was a big scary needle."

The blond snapped his head around, pointing angrily with his keys at Sasuke. "Watch what you say! I will leave you here!" The raven just smirked and got into the car.  
>-<p>

"So you had the dream in front of Sasuke huh?" Madara asked, already knowing the answer but still asking to get some kind of confirmation. "How did he take it?"

"Fine, I guess. But I think he's going to be a little more curious and suspicious about me from now on. I didn't really give him a proper explanation about it." Itachi said with a shrug, pouring Madara a drink. The older Uchiha took it from his nephew and set it on the granite counter.

"As much as I would love to talk about that Itachi, we have more important matters to discuss." He flung a paper onto the counter. Itachi grabbed it with one hand and his eyes instantly widened. "The answer I want to know is how he could have gotten information like this."

"You don't think?"

"Oh but I do my dearest love. It was no coincidence that Orochimaru would suddenly receive this information within day of seeing Danzo's bottom bitch." Madara said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket. "Do you mind?" Itachi shook his head handing his uncle an empty glass. "Unless Danzo gave him the information himself, which I HIGHLY doubt since he know what I'm capable of, it has to be that little brat."

Itachi frowned. This could ruin them; and not just their reputations, but the company as well. It was very problematic that Orochimaru would receive this information. He could easily blackmail his way into being a major player in the corporation, which was what Itachi wanted to avoid more than the plague. Not to mention Orochimaru could probably get Madara and him to do whatever he wanted. The younger Uchiha's frown turned into a scowl. Madara was surprised when Itachi snatched the cigarette from between his fingers and took a long drag. He lit another, allowing Itachi to have the remainder of the previous.

"Hn. Thought you quit." Madara commented with a small smirk.

"Yeah, well, things happen in our lives that cannot be alleviated right away. This will be the best solution until we think of something to do."

Madara sighed. He didn't like seeing Itachi miserable, especially when it could have been easily prevented. But he didn't know exactly how to worm his way out of this situation. The only real solution, as undesirable as it seemed, was to kill the brat who spilled the beans and then kill Orochimaru so he couldn't blackmail them. Of course, it wasn't like Madara could let Itachi in on what he was thinking; Itachi was a pacifist by nature. He would oppose any form of violence Madara wanted to take up against Orochimaru. And it wasn't like they could just refuse Orochimaru and take it to court for slander. They would eventually find out about how the documents were falsified. Madara could feel it, the only way to protect Itachi and save their reputations was to bring the bastard to his knees.

The door closed behind them and they both turned, looking into the archway that separated them from the living room. They had to keep all of this a secret from Sasuke; they couldn't have him panicked about it as well, it would only bring up more stress. Madara snatched up the paper from the counter and placed a smile on his face. They couldn't let Sasuke be over-wise, so it was time to put on the mask.

Sasuke was talking in a hushed tone with Naruto, who was nodding. He took off his shoes by the door and was about to climb up the stairs with the blond, trying to nonchalantly slip by the two Uchiha's in the kitchen. Itachi put out his cigarette and called out. "Sasuke, what are you two doing?"

The raven seemed to freeze, only having taken one step up the stairs before being called out too. Naruto turned towards the archway, a look like he had been caught stealing cookies before dinner came over his face. The two of them headed towards the kitchen and Naruto smiled, waving to Itachi. "We're not doing anything Itachi, you know, just being young adults."

"How strange." Itachi muttered and Madara turned to look at the pair. He was amused by the entire thing, thinking of when Itachi would come home at strange hours whenever he would be with Kyuubi. Naruto seemed to be the same kind of companion for Sasuke, amusingly enough. Itachi glanced over at the smaller raven and he just stared back at the Uchiha, his face completely stilled. "It's strange to me because I don't remember asking you, Naruto, what the two of you were doing."

The two of them seemed to tense up, exchanging small glances between each other. "Uhh, well, that's because Sasuke was being a terrible child and got his tongue pierced today." Sasuke bristled at the confession, sending a very annoyed glance in Naruto's direction. He looked like he was about to strangle the blond until Madara burst with laughter.

"No way!" Madara said as he got up from his seat, grabbing Sasuke's face. He made the boy open his mouth and sure enough a swollen tongue and small black stud were inside. "Aww, my baby's got a wild streak. He really does take after his old man." Sasuke shook his head from Madara's fingers and the older Uchiha patted him on the head, making him more and more annoyed by the second. Sasuke glanced over at Itachi, who was shaking his head, a sweet smile on his lips. "Hn. I don't know why you were trying to hide it from us. It's not like we were going to spank you, or something."

"Knowing you and your unorthodox methods of living, I wouldn't put it past you." Naruto quipped, a smirk springing to his expression.

Madara smirked too, leaning down slightly so he would be even closer to the blond as he said, "Oh Naruto, don't tempt me. Because it won't be Sasuke getting the spanking. I'm quite fond of blonds."

Naruto shoved Madara in the chest and pulled something out of his pocket handing it to Itachi. Ignoring Madara completely. "Here, Kyuubi sent a postcard for you. Not sure why he sent it to our house and not yours, but you know him."

Itachi took the card with a smile. "Indeed I do."

"Well as much as I would love to stay, and tell you about how Sasuke's got his nipples pierced too, I gotta to head out and catch dinner before mom freaks." Naruto said with a smile, patting Sasuke on the shoulder. The raven looked as though he was about to burst and just beat the blond senseless. But Naruto was too quick, managing to escape Sasuke's hands and make it out the door without further mishaps. Sasuke mumbled something inaudible to himself. The boy turned around to see Itachi standing behind him, an amused look on his face.

"Trying to conceal the truth are you?" Sasuke shook his head as Itachi inched closer, allowing his arms to entrap the smaller raven's form. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Sasuke's. "If anything, you should have told me as soon as you walked through the door." Sasuke smiled a little, bashfully as Itachi seemed to lustfully stare down at him.

"Ew...I don't want to see you get all intimate." Madara said with roll of his eyes. "For now I'll take my leave of you. Tomorrow Itachi, I want to discuss some of our...business propositions."

Itachi nodded as he pulled Sasuke a little closer into his chest. Madara exited the house, very quickly and quietly. Itachi ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair, making the smaller boy cuddle deeper into the warm, strong embrace. "So Sasuke...How long until your nipples are healed?"  
>-<p>

**1. Just to clarify, this is a dream/memory sequence and so everything Itachi has seen/experienced can easily bleed together and jump around. Plus the scenes very much work together in a suspenseful way. And this, my lovelies, is why Itachi has nightmares. **

**Ahhh I finished, wooo! I win! Also I apologize for any MAJOR mistakes, I wrote a lot of this at 7 in the morning because I was being an insomnia addict. **

**Itachi:**** You may have finished but you failed to get it in your time constraints.  
>Me: I know...Missed it by two days. Uhh. Maybe it'll be easier to write when I'm in college?<br>Itachi: No.  
>Me: Wow, thanks Outlook.<br>Itachi: You're quite welcome_. _It's what I'm here for, and you know, to make the room look nicer.  
>Me: Indeed Itachi, indeed. Well until next time, this was Hitoko-sama.<strong>_  
><em>


	6. Chapter 6

**You guys! I'm finally back. Hitoko-sama is no longer a myth, she is reality once more. Anyway…I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry it took so very long. Regular PV and check out my poll :D  
>-<strong>

Itachi stared at the door separating him from his office. Normally he would just walk in and sit down, getting right to work. But today was different. He knew what awaited him on the other side of the door…Orochimaru. Madara and he had received his threat the day before and now they needed to meet and confront Orochimaru. It was time to see what it was he wanted.

Madara wasn't tense, he wasn't nervous. This was the time to negotiate. Though this situation wasn't the most desirable, it still didn't mean he couldn't shape it so that it wouldn't hurt them. This wasn't his first rodeo, he had been dealing like people like this since he started his business. He had become a pro at dealing and manipulating; Orochimaru was no different. And if this meeting failed there was always 'plan B' the one thing he knew would save their necks.

The only problem he could see with this is Itachi. He had been trying to keep his nephew away from the back door, shady dealings and the lies and secrets. But some of them couldn't be avoided. And technically Itachi brought this one on himself because of one thing, he didn't keep Sasuke a secret. He was in the eye of the public, a new figure, a new idol to be looked upon. And this wouldn't have been a problem if Orochimaru hadn't have gotten his hands on the proof of fake DNA results. But that was not the issue now that was a problem for later. Now they had to worry about containment of the snake. If they made one false move, he could easily ruin everything. But of course, Madara knew, if anything were too really go wrong, he would break Orochimaru over his knee.

The two Uchihas stepped into the room where Orochimaru was sitting in Itachi's chair, a bottle of water in his hand. His sickly amber eyes were staring at them appraisingly, but Madara noticed quickly it wasn't for him, it was for his sweet nephew. Itachi looked annoyed, for the most part. He didn't want to be here dealing with Orochimaru. He just wanted to do his routine, work, go home, and see Sasuke. But no, he had to sit here in his office with a snake of man, who was holding something over his head.

Orochimaru's assistant was here as well. A mouse of a man, in Madara's opinion. Not strong enough to be influential, but still able to carry out the hard work assistants did on a daily basis. He was that shadow on the wall who knew and keep record of everything. Madara believed his name was Kabuto, if he remembered correctly, and this man would also be a liability. More than likely Orochimaru had supplied his assistant enough information to destroy the company if he ever needed to. Which meant that if Madara did try to take out Orochimaru, he would have to take out his assistant with him. And he would have to do it quickly before or after. It would be almost too much to ask for them to go at the same time, but oh well. He could easily eliminate them both, he just had to wait for the correct timing.

"Gentlemen, so glad you could make our meeting." Orochimaru purred, his eyes all over Itachi. Madara felt a wild possessiveness gripping his body. He wanted to grab this man by the neck and shake him until it snapped. That would very much please Madara. Orochimaru slapped a folder onto Itachi's desk and both Uchihas took a seat in chairs by his desk. "This, as you know, is proof that the boy you claim to be your son is merely a whore bought from a warehouse."

Madara and Itachi both looked at each other and then looked back at the folder. Only Danzo would have such records but there was no way he would send them because of what Madara was capable of. And the older Uchiha was also a valued customer, there was no reason to betray him. It was Sai, Danzo's right hand. And he was not only betraying the Uchihas, but Danzo as well. And Orochimaru was playing right into the kid's hand. There was no doubt that if Danzo found out about how much they knew they would be taken down, silently, from the shadows. People like Danzo dealt in black water, where it was dark enough to hide your sins from not only god, but also from the police.

"So, what is it you want from us?" Madara asked. He didn't want Itachi to get too involved. It may have been somewhat Itachi's fault, but it was Madara who brought in the people who couldn't be trusted with secrets.

The wicked smirk that came to Orochimaru's face made Itachi inwardly shiver. The man stood up and came to stand behind the pensive, younger Uchiha. His hands went to Itachi's shoulders and as much as he wanted to shake him off, he couldn't. This was not the time to bury himself deeper; a single misstep could bruise Orochimaru's ego too much and then send him off the deep end. The snake of a man slithered closer to Itachi, bringing his mouth to rest next to the Uchiha's ear. "Oh if only, if only…"

Madara snatched Orochimaru's hand, gripping it so tightly that if he had done it even just a slight bit tighter, he would have broken all the bones in his hand. The man pulled back from Itachi as the older Uchiha stood up, glaring the snake down and back into a corner. "Listen snake, you may have us by the short hairs right now but it's only a matter of time before the shoe is on the other foot. And if you so dare as to touch a single hair on my nephew's head, there will be nothing left of yours."

Itachi felt a slight tenseness in his spine. Madara was a powerful man, especially in this kind of situation. His words weren't loaded with fluff and shouldn't be brushed off as joke, he was being completely serious. Madara was not a man to be trifled with and Orochimaru was overstepping his boundaries. Itachi wasn't supposed to be a major part of this and if he tried to involve his sweet and innocent little nephew in such a shady dealings, he would bring the fire to Orochimaru's place. And the snake would be roasted and served for dinner.

"Fine, fine." Orochimaru said, obviously very intimidated which such a powerful man getting in his face. He knew he couldn't ask too much of the Uchihas, because Madara wouldn't allow it and they may not have left this office alive. It was well known that Madara's moods were not easily judged or foreseen. It had been rumored that a lot of business dealings were finalized, not with words, but with fists. And Madara wasn't a weak, shell of a man. He was able to do damage, a large amount. Orochimaru needed to contain his desires for Itachi if he wanted to live through his experience.

"So I will ask you again, what do you want from us?" Madara's voice was commanding. It was proving who was in control of the situation. Orochimaru didn't like it, he hated it. He was supposed to be the one who was in control, the one who was calling the shots. But Madara was proving to be one tough customer. He wouldn't let him get the actual physical being he wanted.

"Shouldn't it be obvious? I want a slice of Uchiha paradise. My company would largely profit from merging with Akatsuki Corps." Itachi and Madara looked at each other and then looked back at the man.

"So you want us to throw our company in the shit? There's a reason why we didn't want to merge. You're software and programming is absolutely nothing compared to ours. We out perform you, and completely demolish your programming within a day of your 'new' software being released. If anything, if our company absorbed yours, all of our companies would be doing the same work. We'd just be training your employees to keep up with ours; it would be nothing but a burden to us." Madara said with a snap. "Besides, we're merging with Kohona Enterprises now. Last time I checked, you weren't in the best place with them. I'm not losing that business venture because of you."

"You can't be a big dog, Madara. In case you've forgotten I've got a loaded deck and there's no way you can beat me now." Orochimaru countered flinging the file into the older Uchiha's face.

Itachi cleared his throat and both of the feuding men turned to look at him. "Just do the merger, uncle. I can easily perform damage control with Kohona Enterprises; Minato and I can work something out. And I can create some excuse as to why we are merging with Orochimaru's company. It is true that we'll be training more people and that we'll be spending more money, however, the benefits we'll gain from Kohona Enterprises will make up the difference. Plus, though Orochimaru's companies cannot compare with ours, they still have resources we can use for ourselves. We'll more than likely scrap your companies, gut them for all they have and use your resources but you will profit from that because of the contract you will have with us. And we will supply your current employees with jobs and proper training so they can be better put to use."

The two of them looked at each other. Itachi made it look so simple, it was like he had been thinking about actually merging with Orochimaru from the beginning. Madara glanced at his nephew and nodded his head. "Tell Konan to draw up the papers. They'll be on your desk before the week is out."

Orochimaru looked satisfied enough with what had come out of this meeting. Even though it hadn't gone at all as planned. Madara was far too intimidating and hard-headed to confront. And it was true that he wanted to get to next to Itachi in the worst way, but he wouldn't be able to with such an intimidating uncle to protect him. But that protective and almost possessive man had bruised his pride and it was time to get under Itachi's skin. He was far less involved than Orochimaru liked.

"You know Itachi," The man purred a little as he glanced over at the young Uchiha. "I hope you like your used goods…"

And then it all clicked in Itachi's head. That vengeful little bitch Sai didn't give Sasuke's information to just anyone; he wouldn't just give it to some random business man. He had to be somewhat familiar with the business Danzo ran, and the implications of it. He also needed to have gotten his hands dirty in the filth Danzo delved in. And there was a reason why the symbol on Sasuke's neck looked so familiar to him, because it was Orochimaru's business logo. Which meant one thing…Orochimaru was the man who previously owned Sasuke.

For some reason that struck something deep within Itachi. A possessive fire that threatened to boil his blood until he could spill all of Orochimaru's. Itachi's eyes flashed with rage for only a slight moment and Orochimaru felt a shiver right down his spine. He had never seen such a look cast in his direction.

Itachi laughed a little and that grabbed everyone's attention. "Really? Cause last time I checked you weren't even able to use those…Goods." Itachi stood up and walked up to Orochimaru, getting a few inches from his face. "From what I heard, Sasuke wouldn't even let you touch him. How did it feel? When Sasuke caressed your wrinkled, old balls with his foot? Humiliating? I wouldn't really know because I had him begging for my cock within the first hour of our meeting." The younger Uchiha was smirking deviously, with a glint of amusement in his eye. "If you try anything to touch or hurt my pet, I will personally make sure that it will be the last thing you ever do, and my beautiful face…" Itachi's features sparkled just for a moment as he fluttered the black lashes of his eyes. "will be the last thing you ever see."

Orochimaru stepped away from the Uchiha. He had never seen such a fire, such a passion within this man before. It was obvious that Itachi was becoming attached to his pet and very quickly. If Orochimaru wanted something to happen physically between him and any of the beautiful men, he would have to pull out the big guns. But not now, the time would come. He couldn't pull out everything all out at once. He wanted to be in a power position over Itachi and even maybe Madara. But he would have to work slowly to get to that point, and he would play his hand eventually. He just had to be patient.

"Let's not overstay our welcome Orochimaru." Orochimaru's assistant, Kabuto, finally said, speaking for the first time in this entire encounter.

"Yes, we mustn't get sick of each other." Madara snappily replied, eyeing the smaller man. It was obvious that the older Uchiha intimidated him as well. And he just wanted to get out of here with all of his limbs attached. Because if he wasn't careful, Madara would rip every appendage from his body and beat him with it.

Both Kabuto and Orochimaru exited the room and the two Uchihas sighed, sitting in their respective chairs. Itachi looked over at his uncle, who was shaking his head disapprovingly at his nephew. "What?"

"You shouldn't have snapped at him like that. It means he'll be looking for a way to get you back. And it will hurt you Itachi, no matter what it is." Madara said as he caressed Itachi's face softly. "I play bad cop, you play good cop. That way if they do come, they'll just come after me and you'll be safe. You know I would never let anything hurt you…Never. You're the only one I have left."

Itachi glanced up at his uncle, his eyes softened with regret for letting his possessiveness get the best of him. Frankly it was a little embarrassing…But someone had to stand up for Sasuke, because he needed it. "I'm sorry…I wasn't thinking."

"I know muffin, and that's fine. But we need to watch your back, and Sasuke's. We need to get him a body guard of some kind. Someone who will fit in with Sasuke, look like he's just one of his friends. It'll make everyone unsuspecting."

"I'll talk to Kisame; he's bound to have someone somewhere that we can use."

And with that Itachi rose from his chair and went out the door. He needed to speak with Konan and call Kisame into work. Madara sat in his nephew's office and slammed his fist on his desk, swearing under his breath.

This had been going on far too long, if he didn't stop it now, or put his foot down, there was no telling how bad it would get. He wouldn't allow Itachi to get hurt, not this time. He stole Itachi away from his father because of the pain of his former life and he would make good on the promises he made to the boy. Orochimaru would not hurt him, come Hell or high water. He would make sure the snake slithered for the last time.

From his pocket he withdrew a small USB port and tossed it in the air before catching it again. This was a way to hurt the snake. And not just hurt him, ruin him. Madara knew that he would have to get Itachi on board with this plan before he enacted it because it was risky…But, in the long run, it may be worth it.  
>-<p>

Sasuke yawned as he walked from his final class with Naruto tagging along beside him. He had gotten back at the blond earlier for telling on him, and it was quite satisfying. Plus, Naruto had been walking around with a chair glued to his ass for five minutes and who wouldn't be happy with that? However, it slightly backfired on him because the blond had almost been prepared with extra clothes in his car. The only bonus was Naruto had to run cross campus in only his boxer because he left said extra clothes in his car. The blond had been angry with him but he couldn't help but laugh at how easily he had been tricked by Sasuke. And now they were back to being friends, after the blond childishly pouted for twenty minutes.

"So Sasuke, what's on the agenda tonight?" Naruto asked as they walked back to the blond's car. Sasuke had been supplying Naruto with money for gas so they had just been car-pooling to school, and it seemed easier on Itachi and Madara. Plus the blond always seemed to be broke, even though he came from a family with money. Strange to Sasuke, but he never said anything.

"Studying, homework. The usual." Sasuke said as he got into the passenger seat. Naruto made a muffled noise and looked over at the Uchiha.

"You're so boring Sasuke. Why not come and hang out with me and my friends?"

"My friends and I, Dobe." Sasuke corrected and the blond huffed, puffing up his cheeks.

"Whatever. Are you going to come and hang or not?"

"Maybe some other time."

Naruto whined and complained the entire way back to Itachi's house. The raven played his favorite game while the blond was talking though. 'How long can I ignore the idiot before I punch him?' Surprisingly he lasted the entire time. The Dobe got lucky this time, the next time Sasuke wasn't sure. The raven waved as the blond still harangued him from his car.

He walked into the house and sighed. Sasuke, for some reason, felt bad that he just brushed the blond off. Technically speaking, Naruto was his best friend. Even though they had just met very recently. But he didn't need to spend all of his time with him, even though Itachi would probably encourage it.

Sasuke threw his stuff down and took off his shoes. To be honest, he just wanted to lay down. Ever since Itachi and him got physical, he was exhausted. And Itachi loved his modifications almost too much, but as long as he pleased his Master, it shouldn't really matter. Sasuke stretched and he heard the garage door opening. It was barely three in the afternoon, and Itachi shouldn't have been home so soon.

The raven walked slowly into the living room. Something seemed off…He didn't know what, but there had to be something wrong. The door to the garage opened, slowly, making a creaking noise. Sasuke felt a bead of sweat run down his spine and he felt so nervous as he inched into the kitchen. What if this person wasn't Itachi or Madara? What would he do then? It was obvious that Sai was angry he had become such good friends with the blond, but would he actually send someone after him? Could he actually do that? Sasuke felt a lump in his throat develop and he felt it became difficult to swallow.

What would he do if Sai had done something? He couldn't breathe a word to Danzo if he was dead…

Sasuke saw the door open completely and before he could grab the toaster and toss it, Itachi appeared in the doorway. The raven sighed internally and tried to look nonchalant. Itachi did not need to know that Sasuke was about to throw a toaster at him.

The Uchiha glanced over at Sasuke, who was just standing by the counters. He had just come back from school no doubt. And Sasuke knew Itachi never got home this early, he would be confused but Itachi couldn't tell Sasuke the truth. Sasuke was still delicate about his past and if he told the boy that he was being blackmailed because of it, he would feel…Actually Itachi didn't really know how he would feel. Guilty, responsible, angry. More than likely it would have been a bad mix. So for now, he had to keep his little pet in the dark.

"You're home early." Sasuke observed. Itachi noted how close Sasuke was to the toaster and wondered if he had contemplated throwing it at him if he had been an intruder. Surely it would have stunned whoever had been trying to break into Itachi's house. The Uchiha shrugged a little and tossed his brief case onto the counter.

"Madara decided to take over for the rest of the day." Itachi said as he walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed bottle of sparkling water. He cracked open the top and glanced over at the smaller raven who was just standing around. "Any plans?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Not really. Just studying and the like. Naruto wanted me to go do something with him and his friends but ehhh, I don't really feel like it."

Itachi chuckled a little and headed into the living room, Sasuke following behind him like a puppy. "You and Naruto remind me of my college days with his brother, Kyuubi." Sasuke eyed the Uchiha a little as he sat down on the couch next to him. Itachi took his time and swallowed a large amount of his water before setting it down. "I know you must be somewhat curious about my past with the two of them."

"From my experiences with the two of you, it seems like Naruto knows you very well." Sasuke began and Itachi nodded in agreement. "But I'm not particularly curious about that. Naruto told me that you and his brother went to high school and college together before he dropped out."

"All true. Kyuubi and I were best friends then."

"Were?"

"Yes, according to him we're not best friends anymore." Itachi said as he picked up his water and looked into the bottle. "Apparently now we're soul mates that aren't romantic."

For some reason, Sasuke thought that Naruto would almost say the same thing about their relationship. Minus the non-romantic part. The blond obviously had a crush on him. Of course, Itachi didn't need to know that and he wasn't going to tell his master. He didn't know why but he felt that if he told Itachi about Naruto's romantic interest in him that he would take it the wrong way. And that would mean he would be barred from seeing the blond, his only real connection to normalcy that wasn't an Uchiha. Sasuke couldn't let that happen.

"But, just a fair warning, Uzumakis have a tendency to fall for Uchihas." Sasuke jerked his head quickly, like Itachi had been reading his thoughts. Itachi was taking another drink of his water and the younger raven had to suppress the dumbstruck look on his face.

"Did that happen to you and Kyuubi?"

"Not at all." Itachi said as calmly. "Kyuubi didn't fall in love with me. He fell in love with Ma-" Itachi was cut off by the front door being suddenly kicked open.

Both of the ravens turned to look and find Naruto standing there, a little flustered. He walked over to Sasuke and fell to his knees, grabbing onto Sasuke's legs. "Sasuke! Please go with me tonight!" The blond was begging in an adorably high pitched voice. The fake Uchiha stood a little, trying to shake the blond off his leg. "Sasuke, Sasuke! Please, you have to come with me!"

"Why? You're going with your friends, you don't need me." Sasuke snapped and the blond stood up.

"No, no. You don't get it." Naruto said as he grabbed onto Sasuke's shoulders, shaking him just a tiny bit. "I need you to be my boyfriend for the night!" Sasuke blinked as he considered shoving the blond out the door, but the pleading look in his eye told Sasuke that he should at least hear him out first.

"There better be a good reason for this Dobe. If there's not, you're dealing with this all on your own."

Naruto took a deep breath and Sasuke just looked at Itachi, who was smirking into his bottle. "Okay so you remember Sai, right? The other night I was with him, Sakura, and Ino, those were the two girls from the pizza place, just in case you forgot. And he was getting really awkwardly touchy with me and I realized it was because he wants to get with me, and I'm like 'oh noes! I hate you with every fiber of my being!' and now I don't want to be alone with him because Sakura and Ino ALWAYS leave me alone with him for ungodly amounts of time. I need you to come with me and pretend to be my boyfriend so you can cock-block him for good." Somehow, much to Sasuke's surprise, the blond got all of that out in one breath.

Sasuke knew what his answer should be. It should be 'no' because Sai had already made it clear that if he and the Dobe got romantically involved in any way, that Sai would blow his cover. That was the last thing he needed. Getting into such a comfortable position had been far too difficult and he didn't want to give it up just because Naruto didn't want Sai. But before the raven could open his mouth and respond, the blond snapped in quickly, "Please Sasuke, I really need you."

That struck something within Sasuke's body. He felt like if he said 'no', it would ruin everything between the two of them. Guilt, it was a killer. He eyed Itachi, as if asking his master what to do and the Uchiha glanced back with a nod, as if to say it would be the best thing to do. The raven looked back at his friend and sighed. "Fine."

"REALLY?!" Naruto started to jump up and down, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's body and pulling him close.

"But I'm not pretending to be your boyfriend. I'll just come with you, as your friend, Dobe. We don't need to take it that far. I can cock block as a friend, you know." The blond didn't seem to hear him or care because he was still jumping up and down, acting victorious. Sasuke sighed a little. "Hey, Earth to idiot. Stay here while I get changed."

Itachi patted a spot on the couch for Naruto and the blond happily sat down next to the Uchiha, picking up a conversation instantly. Sasuke huffed a little and headed up to his room.

After the two of them studied and did their homework together, since they had a ridiculous amount of time before Naruto had to even hang out with his friends, they headed into the blond's car. It was about nine in the evening and everything had quieted down. Leaving Itachi's house when it was so late felt weird. It was always light out whenever he did anything and now it felt like he was a real person, somehow who just went out to be with their friends at any time.

Naruto was a link to the real world, Sasuke noted. He was the example of how people lived their lives, how they carried themselves. He did average things and didn't have that magnificent lifestyle; he was just so simple and so…Human. It felt like Naruto was sharing what it really meant to be a normal guy, living a normal life, with friends, and college, and just everything else that came with living.

"So where exactly are we going?" Sasuke asked as he sunk down more into the passenger seat of Naruto's car. The blond was turning off the freeway and into a less than welcoming neighborhood. He couldn't help but suppress a shudder, it reminded him of the area Itachi had taken him from. It had that similar dank, dark feeling about it.

"We're going to the Night Owlin the sketchy part of town." Naruto replied. "Sai has connections there so we all get in for free. So we go all the time; well I try not to because Sai's always in my face, trying to hop on this dick and stuff." The blond steered them down an alley and came out on the other side. The brick walls were decorated with loud shocks of color and blocks of lettering. Some of it was murals with some kind of deepness to it, other parts were just gang signs and professions of love that was more than likely lost by now.

The people passing in the street were stumbling around, grabbing onto to each other and laughing fully. Sasuke knew they were all drunk. The bar signs flashed brightly with the excited neon particles. All of them promised a way to escape, a way to drown all troubles with just a bottle and a glass. It almost made the raven thirsty; there were plenty of things he would like to forget, even just for a night.

Two men were standing outside, sharing a cigarette between the two of them, and exchanging manic kisses like it was the only thing keeping them alive. They laughed out smoke and embraced each other in a sadistic kind of happiness. It was all false, just the played out motions of the alcohol, substances, and hormones dancing through their veins. By the morning, it would all be a foggy blur of regret and awkwardness. Sasuke could tell because even though they may have been slightly intimate, there was hesitation in their actions. Neither one of them was fully committed but were just made braver by the liquid courage sloshing through their body systems and wrecking havoc on their brains.

"What exactly is the Night Owl?" Sasuke asked, feeling over-stimulated by the flashing lights, the graffiti, and the smearing faces of people as they passed by. "Is it a club or something?"

Naruto shook his head. "The only reason it would be considered a club is the music it plays while you chill. It's a bar; a hookah bar to be exact." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. From what he knew about hookah, opium was smoked from it. That just spelled trouble and they were in a sketchy neighborhood so it seemed even more likely that an opium den could have sprung up and was being kept well contained within the walls of a demonic city. And as if Naruto picked up on Sasuke's anxiety he added, "But don't worry, it's not like a drug den or anything. It's just flavored tobacco and dried fruit that's covered in coals and smoked. You'd be surprised by how soothing it actually is."

"Good, I hadn't planned on becoming an opium addict." Sasuke said. "Far too cliché when you're Asian."

"Race doesn't have so much to do with it; country of origin does. And the last time I checked, the Uchihas weren't Chinese." Naruto countered. "Being an opium addict is a more commonly associated historical stereotype of China than Japan, mister Uchiha."

Sasuke couldn't help but what to let the word 'touché' slip from his lips because the blond made a good point. He wondered if Naruto did that a lot; the blond seemed intelligent enough, but not sharp like Sasuke. It took longer for Naruto pick up on things and the like, but he seemed to almost understand them more. It was as though he understood the implications of information more than the actual information itself. Not that Sasuke couldn't do that himself but he almost got stuck on the information and knowing it and the unimportant aspects instead of practical uses until faced with the situation.

Naruto pulled up to the curb, using all of his parallel parking skills to park between two other cars. He pulled his emergency break and looked at Sasuke. "We're here." Sasuke glanced out the window at the small brick building. For some reason he thought it would be…More intimidating. It was nestled in the heart of a dark city, a place where the ghouls came to run a muck and corrupt the human soul. But it was just a building, with good lighting and people standing around at a counter speaking with a man. It wasn't the beast of the night Sasuke had been expecting.

The two of them stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the door. Sasuke opened it and let the blond take the lead. The raven noticed Naruto's friends and Sai right away. They were the ones who were standing at the counter, chatting up the man who was staring at them with a glassy look. When Sasuke stepped in, he was overwhelmed with the smell. It was a sweetness, not the stench he commonly associated with smoke. But this wasn't like those fancy cigars bars the old, wrinkled men at Danzo's club frequented as they bought services from pets. This was a hang out for young adults, where it didn't have to be classy or refined to catch the eye. It just had to be fun, a place where they could enter and feel like they never left the confines of their comfort zone.

People were gathered in the back of the building; it was dimly lit and had loud, dirty music bumping off the walls. But no one was dancing, they were all sitting in the room on large black suede couches, filling it with smoke and large bouts of laughter.

Naruto stood close to Sasuke, almost shoulder to shoulder with the raven. Sasuke noticed the small gleam in Sai's eye but he turned his head back towards the man behind the counter, choosing to ignore Sasuke for now, much to the pretend Uchiha's relief. "We're finally all here. What flavors do we want?"

"ORANGE!" Naruto instantly piped in. Sakura, Ino, and Sai all looked at him with disapproving faces. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. What was so bad about orange? The Dobe seemed to be obsessed with it since he wore it all the time, and from the smell of him, ate them constantly.

"No, anything but. No one liked orange, remember?" Sakura said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, it tasted funky. Even you thought so Naruto." Ino added putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, this is your new friend's first time here. He should decide." She was staring directly at Sasuke, flipping a bit of her hair out of her face and smiling coyly. Sasuke ignored her and glanced at the board which had scribbles of the flavors in a variety of chalk colors.

To Sasuke all the flavors seemed like they'd be sweet and he didn't particularly have a sweet tooth. He doubted he would really want any of the flavors anyway. He glanced at the group, which was looking back at him with expectance. "I really don't care. I'm fine with whatever you guys pick."

"Sounds like ladies' choice today." Ino said, as though Sasuke had directed that comment at just her and Sakura. Sai rolled his eyes as Ino pushed him out of the way. "We'll take vanilla, apple, and pirate's cove."

"How is pirate's cove a flavor?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is it going to taste like rum and salt? Because that would be kinda gross."

"Nah man, it's a mix of cinnamon, rum, and nutmeg." The man behind the counter said making a finger gun at Naruto. "It's called that because of like the spice trade and all that stuff. Yeah, or something." Sasuke couldn't help but think that if he sat here and listened to him talk more he would get dumber. Then again he was so out of it that it almost made sense that he was scrambled. "But first I got to ID (1) your friend here. He's new and all…"

Sasuke paused for a moment. He didn't have an forms of identification on him; not even his college ID card. He couldn't prove that he was twenty. He looked in that age range but that wasn't really a thing he could use; looks didn't prove anything.

But that's when Sai stepped in, as though he was getting tired of Sasuke stalling the group's activities. He slipped some money onto the counter and smiled a little. "Trust me, we went to school together, he's my age. You don't need to card him."

"Alrighty then." He said as he looked over at a different man sitting on a couch playing video games. "Go get them set up and you guys know the drill, find a nice place to park it."

Sakura and Ino took the lead, laughing and talking in loud tones as they fought to be heard over the music. Naruto stuck close to Sasuke and the raven noticed the blond's hand kept slapping into his because of how close they were. Or at least that's what Sasuke thought until Naruto clasped his hand. The pretend Uchiha nonchalantly pulled away and grabbed the blond by the shirt so he could drag him closer so only the two of them could hear. "What are you doing Dobe?"

"You tried to grab my hand the other day, what's so different about now?" Naruto replied in a hushed tone, noticing that Sai was right beside him. He had seemingly come out of nowhere since he had still been talking to the man behind the counter while they had been walking away. The connection Sai had more than likely had something to do with drugs or other promiscuous favors. Not that it really mattered to Sasuke. They slowed a little letting Sai get closer to Sakura and Ino before saying anymore.

"That was different Dobe. I don't need Sai on my case because you don't want him in yours." Sasuke muttered getting only a huff from the blond next to him.

"When were you going to tell me that you knew Sai before this?" Naruto asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Does it really matter that we knew each other?" Sasuke retorted. "Look, okay, so yes, we've known each other for awhile but that doesn't mean you and I don't share the same sentiments about him. I don't much care for him so I kept myself at a distance, alright?"

"I swear everything about your past is a secret. I know it was bad and that you had a hard time and all, but it shouldn't be like pulling teeth, you know? You should know by now that you can trust me…I mean, I trust you."

Sasuke knew Naruto would never understand him. They were just too different, Naruto hadn't been raised to resent the hand that fed him, to be skeptical of other's kindness. And yes, it was like pulling teeth because it was a lie on top of another and it was becoming difficult to see straight in the labyrinth he made to avoid his past. It was almost better if he didn't say anything at all and just brushed off every inquiry. All the Uchihas seemed mysterious, it would just be proving more and more he was Madara's son.

Sakura and Ino sat down on a three seating couch that was across from a different couch that only sat two people. There was an awkward pause as the three remaining members of the group looked around. Obviously Sai could sit with the two girls and Naruto and Sasuke could sit together but from what Naruto had yelled about in Itachi's house, that was the least desirable outcome for Sai, besides him just sitting next to Sasuke. And Naruto didn't want to sit next to Sai at all even if was on the three seating couch. he did break in Itachi's door just to make that point clear. It was apparent he would rather die than sit with Sai on the two seater. Plus it would just be awkward to have the two girls falling all over Sasuke just because he HAD to sit with them.

"Come on Sasuke, take a seat with me!" Ino said as she separated from Sakura and moved to the opposite side of the couch. They both obviously wanted to sit next to him and their attractions towards him were so blatant that it almost gave him the creeps. So Sasuke decided it was time to make the first move and sat down on the two person couch.

"I'll pass." Sasuke said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Naruto scrambled quickly to sit down next to Sasuke, leaving Sai with Sakura and Ino. The blond seemed quite satisfied by how it was all turning out. The problem was that Sai moved Sakura over so he was sitting directly in front of Naruto, making Sasuke inwardly chuckle. There was no real way to avoid him.

The man from earlier came to where they were all sitting with the hookah. The glass was in a vase shape at the bottom and it was full of water. The rest of it was built up from there with glass except for the very top which was a metal piece covered in tin foil that had two burning coals resting and heating the foil. The coals were protected by a small bit of metal fencing so no one would foolishly shove their fingers into the burning mess on top. The pipe part was mounted in about the middle and the hose was wrapped around the entire thing so that it wouldn't drag on the floor. The hose itself seemed to match the wide array of colors and designs of the buildings and graffiti because it was decaled with an almost knitted rainbow pattern that spanned up until the plastic mouth piece.

Sai was the first to grab it, unwrapping it and taking large puffs from the machine. Cloudy white smoke billowed through his pale lips and into the air around them. "Good choice Ino."

"Can we get bubbles?" Naruto asked childishly as he saw the smoke come out. He was directing the question towards Sai, since he was the one who couldn't say 'no' to the blond. "This is the perfect smoke for bubbles!"

"But I can never make them work!" Sakura complained.

"The bubbles aren't for you!" Naruto said. "They are for me and my enjoyment!"

Sai got up and went back to a counter where there were other hookahs waiting to be used. He easily chatted up the man and got a small bowl with a half cut up plastic bottle. When he brought it back Naruto snatched it out of his hands and grabbed onto the hose, filling his lungs and mouth with smoke. He grabbed the bottle and blew it into. A bubble, spiraling with smoke exited from the back and with a short flick of his wrist, was sent flying into the air. It landed on Sasuke's knee and exploded, covering him in smoke. The smell of it was deeply sweet and savory, actually smelling like what they had gotten for flavors.

"Sweet as apple pie." Naruto commented as he handed the hose to Sasuke. The pretend Uchiha looked it over. He almost wanted to pass it off to one of the girls but for some reason it seemed far more enticing when it actually reached his hand. He brought it up to his lips, sucking, watching the water bubble as he inhaled. At first, he didn't taste anything, but when he blew the smoke out, the taste flowed through his mouth, coating his tongue. It tasted complex because all the flavors mixed together. The apple, the cinnamon, the rum, it was all there.

Sasuke grabbed the half bottle from Naruto's hand, dipping it into the bowl where the bubble soap was and took another puff from the hose. He repeated Naruto's movements and sent a bubble into the air. Naruto got closer to Sasuke and blew up into the orb, making it separate into smaller ones.

"Holy shit you guys, the bubble had babies." Naruto exclaimed, completely mesmerized by the smaller, floating orbs.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and handed the hose over to Ino. She smiled as though she had done it as an act of flirtation instead of just the order in which they were sitting. She took a small, tiny little puff and handed it to Sakura.

"God Ino, you're so boring when you smoke." Naruto said. "You don't get the full experience."

"Hey, I don't do it for the smoke, I do it for the flavor."

"Yeah but you don't feel the relaxation if you take shallow breaths." Sai added. "When you take the longer puffs and breath them out more slowly, your muscles all relax and you feel good."

"Exactly, so stop being such a puss and take a bigger hit." Naruto said with a wave of his hand that ended as a point towards her.

"Are we doing anything after this?" Sakura asked as she passed it over to Sai. "I have a midnight curfew."

"Still?" Naruto asked. "You're in college! And an adult!"

"Yeah but I'm living at home, with my parents…Do you really think they care?" Sakura asked with a skeptical eyebrow. "Remember, these were the people who canceled my birthday because I wanted you to come."

"But we were sixteen and I didn't have such a great rep then. Besides that, I would have been the only boy. And I would had my choice of the ladies." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Like you could get one." Sasuke said as the hose was handed his way. Everyone burst out laughing except for the blond who was on him faster than ants on sugar. He was pounding his fists on Sasuke's arm and the pretend Uchiha's rebuttal was simple, he took and extremely long drag from the hose and blew it all in Naruto's face. It took nearly thirty seconds of furious waving for the smoke to dissipate.

"You're so mean Sasuke!" Naruto complained. "How could you say that?"

"If you don't want me to say it, don't make it so easy." The raven replied, smirking as he took another puff of the smoke. Naruto took the hose from Sasuke, disrupting the circle, and took a deep breath of smoke. He got close to Sasuke, letting it out slowly, and moving closer and closer as he did so, so he could get mere centimeters from the raven's lips. Sasuke took in that smoke and felt suddenly intimate with the blond, like they were the only ones there and that there wasn't this cloud of smoke between them.

He could feel the eyes on them and the awkwardness that suddenly gripped the situation so he pulled back from the blond. Both Sakura and Ino looked tickled pink from the encounter, giggling to themselves. Sai, however, looked a little miffed, but didn't say anything about it. Sasuke had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to have a relationship with Naruto because he was 'already marked' by his raven counterpart.

Sasuke couldn't help that Naruto was coming on to him, he couldn't stop the blond from liking his company more than Sai's. It annoyed him. It wasn't his fault and something bad could happen because of it.

"So Sasuke," Sakura began, "you went to school with Sai?"

Sasuke gave a small glare in the other raven's direction. It screamed 'you started this, finish it'. Sai smiled delicately and looked over at his pink haired companion. "Oh boo, don't let Sasuke tell you about our school experiences. He was so…Boring. You know, head of the class, honor student. I was surprised he wasn't forced to be school body president." Sai flashed Sasuke a smile but the raven didn't smile back, in fact he looked bored and completely uncaring of what was being said. But Sai knew, that Sasuke was listening to every word. Both of their covers were too important to be blown, they both knew that. But it was fun to push the envelope, sometimes it was surprising how dense people could be. "We both went to a private school you know, before I started to go to high school with you guys."

That surprised Sasuke, even though he didn't let it show on his face. Danzo actually let Sai out of the base during the day, he had never known for what until this moment. It almost made him even more angry because he actually got to go to school, make friends with people on the outside. How could Sai not have run away? He had the perfect opportunity. It almost made the pretend Uchiha even more angry. Sai was the least trustworthy of all of Danzo's pets, how could he get all of these privileges? It had to be more than just sleeping with the boss.

"But that's pretty much all. We weren't really friends, had random classes together but not much more than that." Sai finished and that seemed to sate them. Sasuke was glad Sai knew where they stood because it wasn't just his ass on the line, Sai's was too.  
>-<p>

Itachi sighed as he sat down at his counter with Madara, who seemed extremely calm all day, even after and during their meeting with Orochimaru. "I don't know if Minato will want to merge with us after this. He doesn't want to be involved with Orochimaru. We need this merger with him because together we'd be a powerhouse in the market. Which we'll need now because of how much Orochimaru is going to bring us down."

Madara petted Itachi's hair like he did when Itachi was still a child. It brought back too many uncomfortable memories for the younger Uchiha so he pulled away. "You seemed convinced earlier that you and Minato could work something out."

"I don't know if I can…The more I think about it, the less confident I get. I know that he thinks of me as a son but there are still things you get mad at your son for doing. And this just might be a deal breaker with him. He doesn't trust or like Orochimaru at all."

Madara had been worried about this from the start. He knew that Minato and Orochimaru had history together and it wasn't the greatest moment in Orochimaru's life either. They had both been competing to be the new head of Kohona Enterprises when Sarutobi stepped down. It had been rumored around the business world that Orochimaru had been embezzling money from Kohona and not only was he fired, but Minato was made the new head of the company. Somehow Orochimaru managed to create his own company and did slightly well for himself.

But Akatsuki Corps had always been in the lead, Madara always made sure of that. And he knew that he would be targeted by other companies and more than likely an instance from his past would come back to get him. He just didn't think it would have taken as long as it did. It was times like this that he was glad that he had created a second company. Itachi may have thought Madara did nothing but screw around all day but he had been sinking money and programming into this back-up company for five years and it would be fully ready and operational at a moments notice. So was he nervous about this? Of course not, he was ready for this moment five years ago. But that didn't mean Itachi wasn't feeling the heat and pressure. Madara knew that if he didn't pull Itachi out now that his beloved nephew would be reduced to nothing more than fuel for the fires.

"I'm not worried, just as you shouldn't be. Orochimaru believes your words, he trusts you. It's me that he doesn't trust. And as long as he believes he will be merged into our company then everything will go very smoothly." Madara said as he lit up a cigarette. To Itachi it almost seemed as though his uncle was merely speaking his thoughts aloud. It made Itachi suspicious.

"Why are you saying it like that?" Itachi asked as he stared at his uncle. "It's as though you have a plan that will make this all go away…"

Madara pulled the USB out of his pocket and handed it to Itachi. "That's because I do. I wanted to tell you but I had a feeling you'd be less cooperative with Orochimaru if you did know the truth. Itachi, I've been secretly sinking all our resources into a different company and the one Orochimaru is currently going to be merging with will be bankrupt and completely useless with the upload of this USB. I made this back-up company just in case something were to happen like this. I was ready for this, though I thought it was mostly going to be my fault with all of my damn vices. But c'est la vie."

Itachi looked over the tiny drive in his hands and just stared back up at his uncle. "And you decided that I didn't need to know about this?"

"Don't take it like that baby-doll." Madara stated as he patted Itachi's hand. "I did it to protect myself, and you, mostly me but you get the picture. I mean it seemed like our profits were down but I was just diverting them into this back-up company. You'd probably punch me in the face if you knew I was doing that right under your nose."

"Hn…" Itachi looked away from his uncle, surprised he hadn't punched Madara during his confession. He was more than a little angry with him. But he also felt relief, his uncle may have lied to him for years, but he had a way of saving them now. "I guess we're just lucky you're such a liar."

"Why Itachi, I'm shocked! I never lied about anything. You know how it goes, don't ask, don't tell."

"So what do you even plan to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Madara asked as he snatched the drive away from his nephew. "I plan on bankrupting our current company; a company in which Orochimaru will have to deal with since he'll be one of our business partners. If he tries to bail it out, he'll be ruined. If he does nothing, he'll still be ruined. This USB has a virus that will get rid of all of our programming software, how to create it, and the like. Orochimaru can't fall back on his companies because of how badly they will have been gutted by us. And we'll be just fine because of our back up company and how ready it is to be operational."

Itachi looked at his uncle and then at the USB. "Do you really think this is a good idea? Won't this just make him tell the truth about us?"

"Oh Itachi, so naïve. Anything he says about us after he's ruined will be brushed off as him being bitter about losing all of his money." Madara said with a smirk on his lips. "Besides, do you really think Orochimaru will want to mess with us again after we completely destroyed him? I don't think so."

Itachi liked the plan. He liked it because it would hurt Orochimaru, ruin everything that he worked for. And it would show him that even when Uchihas were pinned in the corner, they still had a few tricks up their sleeves. But at the same time he felt that Orochimaru wouldn't take something like this sitting down. He would do something to get them back. He didn't know what, but it would be so bad that it would hurt them, and hurt them badly. His mind flashed to Sasuke and how innocent he was. Itachi knew he would never let anything bad happen to that boy. Not anymore. And to make sure of that they had to take down Orochimaru, didn't they?

"How will I explain this to Minato?" Itachi questioned. Madara smirked at this question; his nephew was on board with the plan.

"Tell him that Akatsuki Corps wants a fresh start and that we're remodeling the company to be more efficient. Minato will buy it; he's refurbished his company countless times and that's why they were a great rival. New innovations, cheaper technology with better programming. Minato will be very happy that we're redoing elements of the company before he merges in." Madara said elevating his arms as though he was basking the genius of his own lies. "Itachi, as long as you continue to spoon feed Orochimaru lies and keep on damage control with Minato, nothing will go wrong. I can transfer everything over to the other company by the time Orochimaru is finished with the paper work for the merger."

Itachi sighed a little. "If you think this is the best thing to do uncle, then I'll support your plan, full heartedly."

"Speaking of full hearted…" Madara winked a little as Itachi's face tensed a little at the comment. He knew full well that he was about to talk about Sasuke. For some reason Madara found it amusing that Itachi liked him so much, he didn't understand why. "Where's my son?" Madara asked as he glanced around. "Frankly I've been growing fond of him. He reminds me of me, only shorter and with less of a temper."

"I think Izuna more than you."

"Which was me with less of a temper." Madara countered with a smirk. "And he was shorter but that's not the point."

"He's out with Naruto." Itachi said. "Interesting little bit of information, Sai seems to be in love with your favorite Uzumaki. I felt bad for him, it must be terrible to be hounded by such a soulless whore."

"In love you say…" Madara seemed to purr out the words.

Itachi's eyes narrowed a little as he turned his head towards Madara. "Don't do anything to Naruto. He shouldn't be involved."

"Fine, fine." Madara said. "I hadn't been planning on hurting him or anything. Minato already hates me enough and I don't need that damn brat Kyuubi hounding me. I had just thought it would be a good idea to, I don't know, maybe use the little blond to lure Sai to his impending death."

Itachi rolled his eyes. It was always violence with Madara, it was always his best solution. In fact Itachi was half-surprised that Madara hadn't brought a gun with him today and just killed Orochimaru. It seemed far more his style than actually sitting down and talking it all out. Even though a few death threats had been exchanged, whether they were verbal or not.

"Don't involve Naruto in any revenge plots or in anything for that matter. It's almost bad enough that he's friends with Sasuke." Itachi muttered as he rested his head on his hand. Madara couldn't help but agree. It was inadvertently getting Naruto involved in their own personal web of lies. "But what can you do? Its not like I can forbid him to see Naruto. That would be overstepping boundaries."

"Technically it wouldn't because you're his master, not his boyfriend. He's below you, Itachi. You can tell him to do whatever you want him to do." Madara quipped. "This proposal has all the benefits of being in a relationship only there's no equality. He has to listen to you, no matter what. It's what he's been trained for."

"Frankly, Madara, I'd rather treat him like a person than a dog."

And it was that attitude that got them into this situation, Madara wanted to say. But he knew he couldn't. The last thing he needed was Itachi to get upset with him because he was 'insensitive' and have a breakdown because of the stress and emotional damage. Whether Itachi admitted they were breakdowns or not, Madara had come to learn that they were bad for whoever they were directed towards. And every time Itachi had one, he ran away. He had one when he lived with Fugaku and ran away to be with Madara and Izuna. And then when Izuna killed himself Itachi had another one and ran away to the Uzumakis. Every time something upset him or when the stress became too much for him to deal with, he just broke down and ran. Madara knew Itachi had no other real way of dealing with all of the extreme things life threw in his face but now was not the time for him to break apart. He needed his nephew to be strong for the upcoming battle with Orochimaru.  
>-<p>

Sasuke was feeling good; his mood was nice and mellow. He didn't even care if Sai was here, he was actually enjoying himself. But even then he still had such an anger smoldering within his chest. He could have had experiences like this his entire life if he hadn't have been sold into his former life. And the fact that Sai was living in this world while still remaining in his past made the pretend Uchiha's blood boil. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

"You guys, it's about thirty minutes to midnight…" Sakura said as she looked up from her phone.

Naruto exasperatedly sighed as he flopped over onto Sasuke. "Mood killer."

The raven was in the midst of shoving his blond friend off of him when Sai glanced in their direction. "I was thinking that just because Sakura is boring it doesn't have to kill our night. We still can have fun without her." It was a comment mostly pointed towards Naruto, but even still it would have to involve Sasuke because he was supposed to be Naruto's protection. "Ino can take Sakura home, but the three of us can still hang out." There was a bit of ice in Sai's tone as he said 'three' but no one seemed to notice but Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke didn't like the way this was turning out. If the three of them were alone there was no telling about what would happen. Sai seemed like his lips were loosening up and those secrets that were threatening to spill out could ruin his new life, his new relationships, pretty much everything.

It was as though Naruto could feel that Sasuke didn't want to be here with Sai because he said. "Nah, I have to get Sasuke home before it gets too late. I did interrupt his day so he could hang out with us." Technically they did everything that he had planned to do earlier but Sai didn't need to know that.

Sasuke noticed there was a flare of anger in Sai's eyes, but Naruto seemed to just ignore it. And as the blond went to pass his other raven companion, he grabbed onto Naruto's arm, pulling him back. Naruto squeaked with surprise as he was dragged so that he was right in Sai's face. "Don't forget who your real friends are Naruto. Sasuke is new and fresh, admittedly. But don't get too far up his ass, you may not like what you find up there."

The pretend Uchiha seemed suddenly gripped by his anger, like it had all finally boiled over. He grabbed the blond back from Sai and glared straight into his eyes. "I don't see what your problem is. Naruto can associate with whoever he chooses and if that happens to be me, so what? You can't control him. Last time I checked you weren't his boyfriend, hell, you don't even treat him like that. It would be almost better to say you treat him like a pet."

It was a low blow, Sasuke knew. Because both of them were raised to be just that, pets. But Sai shouldn't be trying to control Naruto like Danzo did to him. It wasn't the way he should be handling his friendships, even if he wanted the blond to be more to him. If anything, he should be even more sensitive to not trying to control every little thing or the people he had come to know. With all this freedom, he should be grateful; not exploiting every little thing and relationship. He was becoming more and more like Danzo by the day.

And what was even worse was that Sai was going to pitch a bitch fit because he was there. It wasn't Sasuke's fault Naruto wanted to be friends with him or that he was attracted to him. It had been a curse all of his life. He would never betray Itachi like that; Sai, of all the people, should know that.

Sakura and Ino both looked at each other and slowly started to move towards the exit. "Well, we're just gunna go." The blond girl said as she grasped Sakura's arm to keep her out of the line of fire. "See you guys later." But no one was paying her any mind as she dragged Sakura out with her.

They were so engrossed in their verbal squabble that when Ino finally finished speaking, Sai opened his mouth again, picking up exactly where he was before they had been interrupted. "Oh don't get all high and mighty with me, _Uchiha_." The emphasis on his 'last name' made Sasuke feel like maybe he should back down. But he couldn't control his anger. He couldn't stop saying what he felt.

"'High and mighty'? I don't feel like that's how I'm acting. If anything, it's your sour attitude that is far more likely construed as 'high and mighty'. You're telling Naruto not to hang out with me for what reason? You barely know me. I could be the greatest person you ever met. But no, the only reason you're so defensive and controlling is because you want to get up in Naruto's guts!" Sasuke knew he should stop but he felt like he was vomiting. Vomiting nothing but words and he couldn't get his mouth to stay shut. "Well news flash for yo-"

"Sasuke stop!" Naruto yelled moving in front of Sasuke. He was looking at the pretend Uchiha and had his back to Sai, he was pushing the ravens apart so there would be a blood bath. "That's enough. Just stop…"

"Naruto I'm sor-" Sai was cut off by the blond putting up his hand.

"Save it." Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the arm and was tugging on him so they both could leave but the raven wasn't moving. He wasn't finished with Sai. He felt like he wanted to rip the bastard apart but he didn't want Naruto to get even more frustrated with him because he was just making things worse, he knew it. "Let's go Sasuke. I'm going to stop this before you two try to duke it out."

"But Naruto!" Sai was obviously not finished with the blond. He wanted to say something more but he knew that he couldn't say much to Naruto without it all getting awkward. "Just…I'm sorry. I'm overstepping my boundaries. I hope you can forgive me…?"

"It's fine, okay?" Naruto said as he got a better grip of Sasuke's shirt sleeve. He started to pull the raven out, not saying another word until they hit the cool air outside. "What the fuck was that Sasuke?!"

The raven turned his head away from the blond, scoffing a little as he did so. "I don't see what the big deal is. You're my friend and I don't want Sai to be so controlling about what you do or who you hang out with. You don't even like the guy and he acts like you're his property."

"But so did you!" He exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air by Sasuke's face. "You didn't have to defend me. You already know that I'm a firecracker and can handle myself, you didn't need to come to my aid. I would understand it better if you were my boyfriend or something but you're not!"

Sasuke was a little stunned. He knew Naruto might be angry about what he said to Sai but he didn't think that the blond would think that about him.

"I mean seriously, you're acting like we're together and he's trying to take me away from you." Naruto muttered. There was a slight look of realization on his face as he glanced up at the raven. "Sasuke…Do you have feelings for me?"

Sasuke didn't know how to answer that question. They barely knew each other and maybe in a different world he could see himself with Naruto. But he was with Itachi and he was very happy with him. But couldn't it also be said that he didn't know much about Itachi either? And Naruto seemed so much more open about his feelings and what his intentions were. But…Sasuke didn't even know. His stomach was fluttering with the words he wanted to say, the deeds he wish he could confess. He wanted to be honest with the blond, but he couldn't be. So would it be better to just pretend? Wasn't that his life now? Just a lie that kept stacking up on itself? And he wasn't already telling Itachi about Naruto's romantic feelings so should it even matter if he had a small, insignificant infatuation with the blond?

"Naruto…I c-"

Sasuke was cut off by Naruto grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him into the smaller body. The blond got on his tip-toes and pressed his lips into Sasuke's. They were warm, full, but they weren't like Itachi's lips. They didn't taste of the passion, the urgent need. His lips were sweetly tinged because of the hookah smoke that still lingered on his taste buds. But the full press of those lips, they almost felt…Right. Like they were made to press into Sasuke's. The raven closed his eyes, just for a moment. Naruto already had his shut and when Sasuke finally closed his, he finally felt that need, that urgency for the touch. It actually scared Sasuke a little, no one had been so bold with him before, no one had ever been so honest with just a single kiss.

It didn't set his nerves a blaze like Itachi's kisses, but it cause almost a small smoldering feeling in his gut. It was like there was a fire inside of him that wanted to be awoken and shared with the blond. But he couldn't…He shouldn't be kissing Naruto. It would never work between them…They were just too different. Sasuke couldn't be honest, he just couldn't. He couldn't shattered the blond's image of him; he wanted everything to just back up.

They heard the shutter of a camera and when they both opened their eyes, there was the aftermath of the flash. Both of them were frozen as they pulled away from each other, glancing in the direction of the noise. A car sped off into the distance and both of them fully realized what happened. Someone had gotten a picture of them kissing, and more than likely that person worked for the press. This would be all over the news and tabloids. And Sasuke knew that he couldn't keep this from Itachi, no matter what he would see it. Sasuke was a public figure now and everything he did would be monitored.

"Oh god…" Naruto muttered as he pressed his hands against his lips. The blond's eyes, which usually sparkled with life and happiness, seemed to dull. The sadness and regret was sinking in and making them well up with tears. "I…I'm just…I have to go."

Sasuke was still stunned. Too stunned to move, too stunned to speak. He wanted to grab Naruto and make him explain what just happened but it was too late. He could already feel the awkwardness setting in. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. And Naruto just jumped into his car and sped away, leaving him there in the awkward silence of the night, full of regret and confusion.

"Shit." Sasuke muttered. There went his ride home. He needed to get out of this Hell hole before something even worse happened. As Sasuke reached for his phone, he was shoved from behind by a very angry Sai.

"What the fuck Daisuke!" Sai yelled as he shoved the pretend Uchiha again. "What did I tell you!? Naruto is mine, do I really need to explain it again? I've known him since I was sixteen and he's the only thing I have that makes me feel normal. Do you know how much I've sacrificed so I can have all this time? Just to see him? Do you?! No, you don't because you have all the freedom in the world now."

What the fuck was happening? Today was making no sense! Sasuke was speechless, tripping over his words. He hadn't been expecting this. This reaction wasn't what he planned at all. And was it really all Sasuke's fault that this was happening? He was just thrown into the middle of a shit storm and there he hadn't heeded the calm before it.

"Sai, I'm not doing any of this on purpose…"

"I don't care! I don't CARE!" Sai screeched shaking his fists. "I've been in love with that damn kid since I met him! And you just swoop in and take him like nothing! You may not mean to do it but I gave you fair warning to keep off of him but no, no, you don't care either do you? And kissing him? Really?!"

"He kissed me!"

"I didn't see you trying to push him off or trying to reject him. You're not free to be with whoever you want Sasuke; you have an owner!"

"So do you, asshole! Do you really think Danzo would condone this behavior? Do you even know how pissed he would be if he saw you chasing around Naruto? If anything you should back off because if and when Danzo finds out, he's going to kill him! We both know that! He's killed for less!" Sasuke was screeching now, finally snapping his temper. He couldn't control the volume of his voice or the tone in which he said things. It was like he was talking to an idiot, not the clever boy he grew up with.

Sai seemed to be struck by that thought, like it had never occurred to him. He probably thought that he would never get caught, but Danzo has his ways. He knows what you're going to do before you even do it. He was far too experienced, too clever and shrewd. He didn't trust anyone but himself.

"I…" He didn't know what to say and Sasuke didn't blame him. You never really think about the consequences of your actions until its too late. And sometimes it really does go to worse case scenario. "I'm done, Daisuke. I really don't care about Danzo and his feelings. I've been sloppy lately, you know. And I could care less about what he does to me…I'm dead on the inside. Before I met Naruto, I didn't remember a time where I felt like I wasn't… Cold, that's how I felt. Just cold. Naruto makes me feel warm, like I'm not just that doll they all expect me to be."

"Then why haven't you run? You had the perfect opportunity! You're on the outside all the time, you know what its like to be semi-normal. You could have run, you could have left him but you still stay, I don't get it!"

"Kaito." That was the only word Sai muttered and Sasuke felt a chill go up his spine. He understood then. Danzo knew that if Sai ran, it would only be a matter of time before he was taken out, even if said man was in jail, he would find a way to get Sai. "I'm afraid to leave Daisuke. I may be daring but I'm not suicidal, even when I feel this cold I still have that yearning to live."

"Well…" Sasuke wanted this to end. He just wanted to go and be with Itachi, he was sick of all of this. He was tired. He just wanted to fall into Itachi's arms and not ever wake up. This life was getting to be too much to handle. Sasuke wanted it all to stop…Just stop. "I guess if it's any conciliation, Naruto probably doesn't want to see me anymore. I feel it'll just be awkward between us now because of that kiss."

"You better hope. I'll let this slide Daisuke, just this once because he was the one who kissed you." Sai muttered as he stared at the ground. His fists were clenched at his sides and he was gritting his teeth in the silence between sentences. "I would hate to see your life get more difficult than it already is…But if something else comes up, don't expect me to do you any favors. My philanthropy has reached its limit so you better watch what you do and say. Because next time, I may not be so gracious."

Sai stormed off and it was apparent that his words were carrying far more weight in them now that Sasuke knew what really was behind them. He had no real idea what Sai had felt until now and frankly, it disturbed him. It disturbed him because of how close he could have come to being Sai. Sure, he was cold, he was heartless, he was stoic, he was hardened. But when Itachi showed him true sweetness it felt like the ice around his heart melting away. Like he could feel again, that there was hope for him. And he could understand now why Sai was so controlling, so protective. Naruto was Sai's means of feeling, his normality.

It was becoming harder and harder to hate Sai.

Sasuke walked aimlessly until he reached a twenty four hour coffee shop. He walked inside, ignoring the women who were gazing him up and down. He took a seat in the back corner and pulled out his cell phone. It was nearly one in the morning and he hoped Itachi was still awake, the last person he wanted to call for help was Madara. The man seemed far more of a night owl though.

He dialed Itachi's number and that's when he felt the choking sensation in his throat, companied by the hiccup of the sobs he was trying to repress within his form. Luckily for him Itachi answered his phone.

"_Sasuke, it's late. Where are you?"_

"Itachi…" His voice was far more hoarse than he wanted it to sound but he couldn't help it. Today had been too trying, too difficult for him. He couldn't take it. He just wanted to lay down on his bed and never get up again.

"_Sasuke, what happened? Where are you right now? I'm coming to get you."_

Sasuke composed himself as much as he could and told Itachi about his location and just waited. And waited. He just wanted to fall into Itachi's arms and cry. He hadn't felt like this in such a long time, not since he was a child. He hurt; he hurt so much.

When Itachi finally arrived he noticed that Madara was in the car. The older Uchiha was driving which meant that Itachi was probably going to sit in the back with him. Sasuke got up from his seat and headed towards the car. Itachi was already outside of the building waiting for him to come. Sasuke passed by his master and got into the vehicle, and it surprised the younger Uchiha very much. Sasuke must have been very upset to not even want to feel his comfort. Itachi sighed and got into the back with him.

"Sasuke, what happened? Where's Naruto?" Itachi asked as he petted the boy's hair, moving it away from his face. He noticed that Sasuke couldn't look him in the eye, choosing instead to stare at the floorboard of the car. He didn't want to hear the blond's name, it just brought up those awkward feelings. He didn't want to think about him.

But he knew he couldn't be silent the entire ride. Eventually he would have to tell them what happened. And with that picture of him and Naruto going to be all over the news within the next few hours it was probably better to spill everything now.

"I…I don't know what happened. I got into a fight with Sai and Naruto dragged me out before it got physical. And then we started to exchange heated words and…" Sasuke was choking out the next part, but it needed to be said. They needed to know what was going on. "Naruto kissed me and someone got a picture of it. So more than likely that kiss is going to be making the headlines in the next few hours, just a heads-up." Madara looked at him pensively from the driver's seat. He didn't like what he was hearing, the shit was getting deeper and deeper. "And Naruto got freaked out so he just left, which was okay with me since it would have just been awkward anyway. Sai came out after that and…I…" Sasuke was choking on his words, the sobs were becoming more and more apparent as he continued. "I just can't fucking do this anymore. It's too much for me to handle." Sasuke's eyes were welling with tears, some of them were dripping down his cheeks and Itachi couldn't help but feel it pulling at his heart. He didn't know how to deal with his own emotional break downs, let alone someone else's…

"Don't be so dramatic Sasuke." Madara commented. And Itachi's head instantly perked up to glare at his uncle. There he went again, being as insensitive as he always was.

"You don't understand the _shit _I deal with." Sasuke yelled, his eyes were reddened with tears but even still he had heat in them. Madara didn't fucking get it, he doubted Itachi did either. Their lives were picturesque and his was just shit, nothing more. "You're too fucking perfect to understand what I feel. I wish I could be as ignorant as you. I'm so done with this. I can't lie anymore, I can't hide these feelings. And I'm sorry that my life is far too complicated for you to comprehend."

"Sasuke, please…" But it was too late for Itachi to play mediator. He saw the look in his uncle's eyes. "Uncle, I'm sure that he didn't actually mean what he said…"

"Oh no, I fucking meant every goddamn word." Sasuke screeched, having his own personal tantrum in the back seat. "Piece of shit…"

Itachi tensed up after shuddering a little. Sasuke was pushing it, he was pushing it hard too. The problem was that Madara had a temper on him that would make anyone back down. It was snapped by the easiest little things. And after all the blackmailing and the shit he was dealing with, he doubted Madara would take this well. He wouldn't be able to brush it off. Sasuke hadn't experienced what it was like to have this man angry with you and him talking back to Madara was only fueling his rage.

Madara wasn't going to take Sasuke's comments lightly. He thought he had it rough? He thought he couldn't do this? Sasuke didn't know shit because Itachi wasn't telling him. He thought that Madara's life was perfect? Well it was time for a wake-up call because the shit had hit the fan from day one of Sasuke being here. Madara was looking forward at the road and before Sasuke knew it, Madara's hand was reaching for him, fingers jerking angrily in his direction. Sasuke ducked out of the way as Itachi grabbed his arms, trying to prevent Madara from grabbing his pet's throat. Madara screeched the car to a halt, right in the middle of the road. People were honking and yelling behind him but as soon as they saw Madara get out of the car, they quieted, taking different routes around the car. The older Uchiha went to the back seat, grabbing Sasuke out of by his hair.

"Madara! Stop!" Itachi was about to get out of the car when his uncle slammed the door in his face, effectively cutting him off. He smashed Sasuke against the car door, looking at him with such an angry, crazed gleam that it made the smaller raven's blood run cold.

"I don't understand? You can't fucking do this? Well fucking suck it up." Madara said as the grip on Sasuke's hair increased. Sasuke whined with pain as it felt like he was tugging it straight out of the follicles. "You aren't the only one who's in the shit kid. And guess what…It's your fucking fault. You and your damn master." He pointed a glare at Itachi who was struggling to get the door open. He smashed Sasuke against the door again, not caring about the whines he received. "You know your previous owner? Orochimaru? Yeah, well he's fucking blackmailing us right now with evidence that you aren't really my son. But do you see us falling apart at the seams?"

Itachi got out of the car on the other side and he was gripping his uncle's arm so he would let go of Sasuke. "Madara, stop this. We're in public…Leave him be!" That only seemed to fuel his anger because he whipped around and slapped his nephew across the face, making him stumble backwards.

"Back the fuck up Itachi, I don't want to hurt you so don't get in my way!" Madara snarled as he redirected his attention to Sasuke. "Damaged goods, that's what you are Sasuke. Just a nicely wrapped piece of shit and guess what? You're just as replaceable as Danzo's bottom bitch. That little fuck was the one who sold us out. Because of you, Orochimaru was able to get under our skin and try to suck the blood from us until we're completely dry." Madara let go of Sasuke, kicking the car out of frustration. "Don't fucking complain or tell me you can't do this, because you're going to have to put on your big boy pants and suck it up. We're far too deep in this to stop now."

"But…I don't get it." Sasuke muttered. "Sai can't be that stupid. I don't understand why he would do that."

"Probably hates you." Madara said with venom. "Ever think about that? I'm starting to see why."

"No, even if he hated me that much…He wouldn't risk it. If Danzo finds out, he'll kill him." Sasuke said, glaring at the end of his statement.

"There's no 'if' about it. When is the correct word to use. I'm not the kind of person who takes this shit lying down. His bottom bitch will pay for this and I don't care how bad it hurts him."

Sasuke grabbed onto Madara's arm and pulled him closer. "No! Please, you don't understand. He'll kill Sai!"

"Oh I understand very well and frankly, I don't give a fuck." He pulled his arm back out of Sasuke's reach and huffed with anger.

"Just let me handle thi-"

"Oh no, no, no, no." Madara said as he turned around to glare at his 'son'. "You had your chance to fix this but you fucked it up. What you did obviously didn't work."

"Madara, lay off him." Itachi said as he grabbed onto his uncle's shoulder, trying to pull him back. He had recovered from the slap and was trying to calm his uncle. It wasn't working. Itachi knew that Madara had to work the anger out himself but he needed this to end now before someone important saw.

"You lay off. I don't need you to get all emotional and stressed out. I need you a hundred percent Itachi. Can't have you running away again, especially right now." He turned back to look at Sasuke. "Get in the car, I'll show you what you what Danzo's bitch has been up to."

Sasuke was hesitant and when Madara saw that he pulled the boy away from the door, opened it, and shoved him inside. Itachi got in on the other side and Madara took a deep breath to center himself before getting inside as well. -

The car ride back to Itachi's house was awkward. Madara's rage had ripped into everyone and he was left steaming in the front seat, muttering to himself or yelling at the 'motherfucking, asshole, idiots who needed to learn how to drive'. Itachi and Sasuke both remained silent, feeling too emotionally drained to even say anything to each other, let alone the madman in the driver's seat.

They got out of the car, still in silence as Madara led them into the house. Sasuke was first to enter behind Madara and Itachi shut the door when everyone was inside. The older Uchiha led them into the kitchen where a folder laid on the counter. He shoved it into Sasuke's hands and he hesitated slightly to open it. He couldn't help but flinch when he saw what was inside. It was all the information about him, all of the test results and what they used to fake it, proof of the fake letter. It was all there.

But the question was…How did Sai get his hands on it? Danzo kept records like this under several locks and with a special security system. People had tried to get to records, to try to destroy them and gain their freedom, but it never worked. They were always caught or couldn't get the files. "This shouldn't be possible."

"Well it is. All of it is right there. And I don't doubt more copies were made of it." Madara said as he sat down, grabbing a cigarette from his pack.

"But Danzo wouldn't have trusted him with the information to crack the safe and locks. I don't get it…" Sasuke muttered, mostly to himself but they were still listening. "Is he going soft?"

"Soft…" Madara repeated. "Yes, that could be it. So in love with his bitch that he trusts him with everything. But he should know better than to allow a lowly pet access to information like this."

"Doesn't matter now. It's already out in the open and if Orochimaru has it, he's probably looking to get me back with it…" Sasuke said as he gripped the folder tightly, bending it with his fury.

"Quite the contrary. He's after Itachi's ass this time and a slice of our company." Madara replied. "And he wants it badly. He even tried to stand up to me, cocky little bastard. He should have known that I could have snapped his neck if I really wanted to. And there was a window, I could have easily pushed him out of it."

"I was shocked you didn't." Itachi added as he sat down at the counter, rubbing circles into his temples. "But you needn't worry about this much Sasuke, we have this all under control…I think anyway."

"Have a little faith in me." Madara said with a smirk. "The man may be a snake, but I'm far slipperier than he'll ever be. No one can hold me down."

"Let's hope." Itachi muttered. "Come on Sasuke, it's getting late. Good night uncle, you can have the run of the house while I'm sleeping."

"Damn straight." Madara replied as he started to rummage through Itachi's cabinets to find his liquor.

Sasuke was quiet as he walked up the stairs with his master. He felt awkward after telling him the truth about him and Naruto because he was supposed to only be loyal to just one. He had been hiding it since their friendship began and it was relieving yet scary to have everything out in the open. People have been killed for less and with all of this truth out, he didn't know how Itachi would react. He seemed to almost not care, like he expected it.

"Listen, Itachi…I'm sorry." Sasuke began, "I didn't mean for Naruto and I to get that close." Itachi chuckled softly.

"I told you to be careful of the Uzumaki clan." The Uchiha said with a delicate smirk upon his lips. "I knew Naruto would fall for you, and I knew it would be quick. And I also knew you'd think about what it would be like to be with him. But I don't worry because we have something special, I can feel it. Which is why I believe you when you say that Naruto kissed you first. And I had a feeling when he asked you to be his pretend boyfriend that he meant he wanted to be it for real."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Sasuke questioned, running his fingers lowly against the wall.

"Because I was never jealous." Itachi said with a shrug. "I knew you'd be loyal to me, contract or not."

Sasuke felt heat bursting through his face. It was weird to have someone, who he didn't really know, trust him so much. He didn't care that Naruto was into him, or that the blond kissed him. It was almost refreshing. It became apparent that Itachi knew how to judge people, even if it was the first time they had ever met. And Itachi judged him to be trustworthy and he believed it. Sasuke felt ridiculous for hiding the truth from him now.

"But…" When that word came out of Itachi's mouth Sasuke tensed slightly. He had heard stories that started out like this. The master was, at first, understanding…Then he turned violent. But Itachi wasn't like that, right? Madara seemed to have the temper in the family and knew how to use it to push everyone around him into submission. "If you really wanted, you can have a public relationship with Naruto. And have a private one with me."

A public relationship? It was nice, the thought of being with Naruto, doing things together, and the like because he couldn't do those things with Itachi. Because they were 'family'…Because it was frowned upon. He couldn't hold Itachi's hand in public, he could be taken on a date by Itachi, and he couldn't kiss him in public. They couldn't do anything. But with Naruto, he could do all those things, they didn't have to be intimate either…

However…It didn't seem like it would feel right. He was with Itachi and every time he kissed Naruto, every time he held the blond's hand, every time they walked down the street living their lie, Sasuke knew he would feel like he was betraying Itachi. He couldn't do that. And what would he do if Naruto fell deeper and deeper into the pool of love? Laugh in his face and wave goodbye? No, it was better to end all hope of them together and just resign to being friends.

"No," Sasuke began. "I would just be leading him on then. And that would be terrible if his feels started to solidify and wouldn't go away. I don't want him to fall in love and me completely crush him. It would be better if I nipped this in the bud now and not have to deal with the consequences later…"

Itachi smiled a little. "I'm glad you feel that way. And we really don't need for it to be even more awkward whenever we see them. The entire Uzumaki family hates Madara."

"I'm coming to find it's very EASY to hate Madara." Sasuke muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

Itachi sighed and patted Sasuke on the head. "Don't be too hard on Madara. It may be hard to believe but Madara's life has never been perfect and he's pulled himself out of more shit than I care to describe. He's very stressed right now and he doesn't know how to healthily express his emotions. And he isn't one for bottling them up either. Usually he only freaks out like this when there's a personal family tragedy." Itachi said. And from the way he said it, it sounded like maybe there had been a few tragedies. But Itachi obviously didn't want to explore them since he deflected away from it with, "I should have probably said something before we came because of what we were dealing with." Itachi paused for a moment as he touched the side of his face when Madara had slapped him earlier. "I'm sorry he flew off the handle like that. People usually aren't around when he throw his tantrums."

"I've dealt with worse." Sasuke supposed; and it was true. He'd much rather deal with Madara everyday than Danzo for a few minutes. "I mean you and Madara are in a tight spot because of me and I don't need to be bratty about it."

Itachi shook his head a little. "You aren't being bratty. I had a feeling something like this would happen eventually. Madara is insane, always has been, probably always will be. And mixed with his temper he becomes, for lack of a better term, a monster. And I knew you wouldn't be in such a controlled environment if you had real friends so they would mess with your emotions. You aren't used to all of this strain and it can become extremely overwhelming."

"Fear…I'm more used to keeping myself under control when I'm frightened." Sasuke muttered aloud. But it sounded more like he was speaking to himself than actually voicing his thoughts to Itachi. "I'm not used to the other kinds of hurt. I've never been so close to other people before and I guess if I had been, I would be far more well equipped to handle this."

"Did Danzo ever harm you?" Itachi asked as he thought back about the people chained to the walls, all beaten or abused in some way.

"Depends." Sasuke replied. "Physically? No. I was very well behaved as a child because I was quick enough to pick up on what was considered acceptable behavior and what wasn't. I was chosen with four others to be in the accelerated program…Sai was also in that program. The other three, well, I only know what happened to one of them."

Itachi felt stiff for some reason, like he didn't want to hear exactly what Sasuke was going to tell him. He knew that this wasn't a happy story, things like this never were. But with the way he phrased it, someone was dead. He knew it. And it wasn't a suicide, he could already feel it. Someone got murdered.

"Danzo shot him, in the head, right in front of us." Sasuke blinked, like he had relived this moment multiple times in his mind. "I had been silent the entire time it happened. Sai and I both got off easy because we had kept our composure. The other two had to stay…And clean it up. They had reacted." He paused looking at Itachi, looking right into his eyes. The Uchiha saw it then, the look he had received the first time he saw Sasuke. The lifelessness, the cold. That was the moment that ruined Sasuke. "That was the day that Sai changed. He had become plastic…"

That hit something within Itachi. He was starting to understand why Sasuke was protective of Sai even though the little bastard was doing his personal best to ruin them. Because even though Danzo may have liked Sai, he would take him out without a single regret.

"Sasuke…I'm so-"

"Why do human insist on apologizing for things that aren't within their control?" Sasuke interrupted. "I don't need you to say that for me. It's the past, I was hurt by him. But those wounds have long since scarred over. And I've learned from that experience."

Itachi wondered what exactly that would teach you…How not to trust someone? How to obey? He wondered what Sasuke would have been like if he hadn't lived with Danzo. Itachi knew that his pet had probably asked himself that thousands of times. Because when you're out of hope, out of luck, out of your mind…Then there needed to be something to think about to make that pain subside, just for a moment.

"Sasuke, you know you don't have to be afraid anymore. It may not seem like much but I'll protect you now."

Sasuke knew Itachi would try, and he would fight tooth and nail. But he didn't know if that would be enough. As much as he wanted to believe Itachi could help him, that he would fight off the demons, that he would pull him out of the darkness, Madara had been right. He was damaged goods. And now his mask was cracked, broken beyond repair and their relationship would never be the same after this moment. But he didn't know…How could Itachi save Sasuke from himself when Itachi also struggled to keep his head above water?

Itachi saw Sasuke's hands, shaking a little as he reached forward to grab him. He pulled himself into Itachi's chest, face buried in his shirt. Itachi sighed with relief at the comforting touch and reciprocated the gesture, only breathing deeply the scent of Sasuke's hair.

Madara had wandered into the living room and peered upward to catch a glance of the two of them. They sought each other's comfort, like two souls that had been searching for one another. Madara gulped down the last of his drink and muttered angrily to himself. The closer they got, the more difficult it would be to hide the truth. Itachi had learned of one of Madara's long buried secrets today, the last thing he needed was a different one coming up from the bottom. No, not now. It would hurt Itachi too much now… And the last thing Madara wanted was to hurt Itachi. It was the reason he did it in the first place, wasn't it?  
>-<p>

**1. The legal smoking age in Japan is 20 but there's nothing about hookah bars so I'm just not going to care and say it's the same as the smoking age.**

**Oh god, so much work has been done in this chapter.  
>Itachi: Finally, you're actually getting work done.<br>Me: Not my fault.  
>Itachi: Wrong, completely your fault. Maybe if you didn't screw around so much, you'd get this all done faster.<br>Me: I still got it done, and it was long!  
>Itachi: I remember when you could crank out a twenty-thousand word chapter in three days. You're becoming too slow. Everyone is going to start hating you.<br>Me: Don't remind me. I'll be far more diligent now, I swear.  
>Itachi: Uh huh. We'll see...I'm watch you.<br>Me: I hope you enjoy this chapter you guys...This was Hitoko-sama.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm going to try really hard this upcoming quarter to get more updates posted. Cause I feel I've been slacking a lot and I know you guys can't wait forever for me to do cool stuff. So, I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy the update. Regular PV  
>-<strong>

"_Oh I thought the world of you,  
>I thought nothing could go wrong,<br>but I was wrong, I was wrong.  
>If you, if you could get by, trying not to lie<br>Things wouldn't be so confused and I wouldn't feel so used  
>But you always really knew, I just wanna be with you."<br>Linger, The Cranberries._

The last few days Sasuke had spent at school and at home had been awkward to say the least. Since his kiss with Naruto was now public news, whenever the two were seen in the minimalist proximities of each other, people swarmed them. They were everywhere. Poking, prodding, all with their questions, their jealousies. It was too much for Sasuke. He stayed home very often, hating to venture forth and perhaps be attacked by the rabid media. And if anything, all of this coverage just made things between him and Naruto even more awkward. He couldn't have alone time with him so he could explain things properly and every time he tried, the press would just come out of nowhere and insert their noses into his business like everyone needed to know.

But that wasn't the only thing causing his life to be difficult. Oh no. Madara was sure helping greatly with it. Ever since Madara and he exchanged their heated words and got into that small fight, he had been death glaring Sasuke, much like a spited child would. Of course, Madara would speak to Sasuke. Mostly to lord over him or to make some kind of ridiculous or snippy comment that drove him up the wall. And Itachi wouldn't let him get into another argument with his uncle, not again. Who knew what exactly Madara would do this time? He had gotten pretty physical the last time too, so that meant he could have been crazy enough to end Sasuke just because he could. Itachi did warn that Madara came packaged with a very short fuse. Though, Sasuke noticed, Madara only seemed to lose his said temper when the matter he was getting involved in dealt with Itachi. Well, out of all the cases he'd seen…

Sasuke sighed as he lay down on his bed. He set the book for his class on the ground and just spread out completely, staring blankly at the ceiling. He really needed to think of what to do, what he wanted to say. This thing with Naruto would be far more easily resolved than his issue with Madara. Madara was too hardheaded and hot-tempered to be approached and appeased with success, especially right now.

But he just wasn't sure what he could say to the blond to make him feel better or if anything less awkward. It wasn't like he could just spill the beans about what he had been doing with Itachi. No, that wouldn't exactly give the best feedback. Who knew what Naruto would think of him then? And what he also couldn't tell him that Itachi and he weren't related either. He'd have to tell Naruto everything. Even though, deep down, Sasuke actually wanted to. He didn't like that he had to keep his so called best friend in the dark. From what he understood anyway, friends didn't do that.

But, what else COULD he do? Really, in both of the current situations he was facing, there weren't any or real solutions that seemed to pop up and make their presences known.

The fake Uchiha rolled onto his side so that he was facing the wall. He hadn't been too surprised that Itachi would hide something like their current situation from him. Orochimaru had been his previous owner and he very much appreciated not having to relive his former life as often as he could. Those memories haunted him while he slept and he tried his hardest to keep them away while he was awake. And Itachi had been kind enough to protect him from that, for a little while at least. Now whenever he saw his owner or Madara he couldn't help but be stabbed with guilt. He had been the reason why they were suffering so much. Even though Madara claims there were secondary motives already in play, which Sasuke did believe, he still acted as catalyst to the whole event.

Although, it also could be partially blamed on Sai, actually, all of this mess could really all be blamed on Sai. What possessed that boy to do what he did; Sasuke knew he would never understand. Why would he do something like this? What had Sasuke really ever done to him that would cause him to be so spiteful? All of it seemed to boil down to Naruto. Maybe Sai thought that if Sasuke's past started to rouse itself from the grave that Itachi would become more protective, maybe more abusive, and keep him somewhere quiet. Somewhere his master deemed safe. Obviously Sai thought that every single man who walked into Danzo's establishment would be the same. Cold, hateful, despicable. Sometimes they could be even called pure evil, just like Danzo.

Or perhaps, Sai realized that Itachi wasn't a horrible monster. That he was a genuine, beautiful creature. Nothing like the other men they met and experienced. Sai easily could have been jealous of his good fortune. But it couldn't be reaffirmed. He doubted Sai would ever like to speak with him again. Especially with all of the information Sasuke now knew about what he had done. If he could though, he would warn Sai that Madara is a man to leave be, that he should be trifled with no longer. Madara had friends on the other side and, Sasuke felt, he wasn't afraid to use those connections at all. Sai was going to slip up someday, Sasuke knew, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Whether Madara helped to push him to his knees remained to be seen. All that was really certain was that it wasn't going to be a nice relief either. If and when Danzo found out, he would kill Sai, but he would torture him first. He had jeopardized everything after all. It was only nature Danzo make an example of him so that it warded off any other wistful spirits. The thought made Sasuke gulp a little. Sai needed to stop now before he was as dead as…

Sasuke was jarred out of his thoughts by a soft rapping at his door. He sat up as soon as Itachi walked into the room. "Don't be too displeased…" Sasuke looked at his master with a disapproving frown, marring his once calm features. This had already come out bad. Whatever it was, it was just going to make Sasuke more aggravated when Itachi said it. Though, he was curious about what Itachi could have wanted from him. "Naruto is here."

"Oh come on…" Sasuke muttered as he flopped his head back down on the pillow. He thought about suffocating himself with the feathery cushion but decided against it. Itachi would stop him anyway.

"You didn't let me finish." Itachi stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He was dragged along here…By his brother, Kyuubi."

"What?"

"Kyuubi wanted to come and see me and he decided to drag Naruto along. So, please Sasuke, for the sake of being civil; will you come down and at least hang out with him so he isn't so lonely with just me and his brother?"

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh and got up from his bed. "Fine, fine…Even though, since you are my master, you could have just commanded me to do it."

"Oh? Okay then, I'll play. March little man, you're aspiring boyfriend is waiting."

"Got jokes now, I see." Sasuke said with a small smirk on his face. "As you wish master, I'm happy to please you." He bowed as he walked out of his door, Itachi following behind him, shaking his head. Even though it was a disapproving gesture, Itachi was smiling. Sasuke couldn't help but think that the Uchiha looked the most beautiful when he smiled. It brought light to his stoic features, making him almost inhumanly gorgeous.

Sasuke stopped short at the stairs, peering over the railing. A person could see everything from this high, and the raven spied Naruto in the kitchen, speaking to what looked like a wall. Of course, Sasuke figured, his brother was the one he was speaking to. It also could have been incognito Madara, but from the less defensive stance and lack of smirking, he assumed otherwise. Itachi smacked Sasuke's butt once, a friskier yet very welcomed gesture from his master, so he would continue his way down the stairs. The smaller raven shook his head but couldn't help the pleased smile that crept its way onto his lips. Sometimes he really liked having Itachi as his master.

Itachi led Sasuke into the kitchen and before Sasuke could even stop walking; Naruto was staring dead at him. Of course over the past few days they hadn't exactly spoke. The best either could muster was a half-baked escape plan from the paparazzi, which always ended with them silently parting ways. So this was probably going to be the first time they actually attempted actual conversation, not awkward and weird conversation, Sasuke hoped. Naruto had a slight flush to his face and he looked away from Sasuke, which dashed his hopes that the blond would want to talk to him. Of course Naruto's overly dramatic emotions would make him tongue tied around the fake Uchiha. Sasuke sighed internally and shifted his attention towards the looming figure who was clicking his tongue thoughtfully.

Kyuubi…Was nothing like what Sasuke had been expecting. He expected, since Naruto and he shared parents, that they'd look pretty identical. But, Kyuubi was a different case entirely. He was taller, a good head or so taller than Naruto. He was contoured with muscle, making the shirt he was wearing tighter around the arms. But what seemed to strike him the most was Kyuubi's hair. It was long, reaching the small of his back, but spiked out, somewhat like Naruto's hair. It was crimson red where blond should have been. The only thing that matched between the siblings was their eyes. Kyuubi had deep blue eyes that seemed to shine with mischief, just like Naruto did. It was strange. Perhaps Kyuubi had a different mother than Naruto?

"Well, well, well, well…Well." Kyuubi paused before saying the last one then shifted his eyes around strangely like he didn't know what he was doing. His voice was velvety and deep, Sasuke noticed right away. His smirked but it wasn't an arrogant one, it was playful, something that almost made Sasuke feel a little nervous. Kyuubi just seemed…Weird. But at the same time, he was like the picture of masculinity. The red head pushed himself off the wall and came to stand in front of Sasuke, glancing down. His eyes were shinning with curiosity. "So, you're the fabled son of Madara, neh? He's shorter than I pictured…" He reached out and poked Sasuke in the face, very lightly, as though he was seeing if the smaller boy was real.

"Hn?" Was Sasuke only response to the comment. A well-deserved swat to the hand served as retaliation to the poke. Naruto chuckled softly when Kyuubi's pulled back to nurse his hand and pout. Of course he was short, who wasn't short compared to this towering, red headed beast of a man?

"Kyuubi, don't just poke people. It's rude and a little bit on the annoying side. Besides, Sasuke is still young, he still has time to grow." Itachi said with a slight wave of his hand. "I frankly remember a wimp of child in high school. Short, weak…"

"Hey don't bring up unpleasant experiences. High school was the hardest time of my life." Kyuubi turned away from Itachi then and focused his attention on Sasuke once more. "He's pretty cute if I do say so myself...Neh, say something will ya? Ol' Kyuubi won't bite." He flashed a cheeky smile at the smaller raven, showing his slightly elongated, pointed canines. But somehow, Sasuke recalled, Naruto had similar canines. Maybe the two were full brothers after all.

All of them turned when they heard the garage door open. Itachi started to frown and sighed as he walked across the kitchen to unlock the door the person was undoubtedly going to open to get into the house. Madara popped his head in, an unusually jovial look on his face, which contorted to a frown upon laying his eyes on Kyuubi and Naruto.

"Oh God, it's you." Madara said as he walked in through the door. He huffed a little and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Itachi, why do you not inform me when you have less than pleasant company over?"

"Depends, why do you come over unannounced?" Itachi quipped, walking over to his refrigerator and pulling a bottle of sparking water out. He popped the cap and looked expectantly at his uncle. He even batted his pretty eyelashes to annoy him more.

"Don't gang up on me." Madara said as he pushed past Kyuubi and grabbed onto Sasuke. "You're the only one who never betrays me, fruit of my loins."

"Please refrain from calling me such a…hideous pet name. It disturbs me." Sasuke replied, trying to free himself of his 'father' and his vice-like grip.

"You're betraying me, stop." Madara said, holding tighter than before.

"No."

"Uncle, let the boy go. You'll crush him to death." Madara huffed at his nephew's comment and let Sasuke go. The fake Uchiha brushed himself off and shook his head. To him, Madara seemed to be acting strange, but he didn't really know if this was typical Kyuubi behavior or if the man was in a strange mood. Before this point, the only time Madara had ever touched him in an affectionate way was on camera. And that was only to keep the act up. Any way Sasuke looked at it, Kyuubi was the cause of the behavior.

He wanted to ask Itachi why Madara was weird around Kyuubi but he knew that it had to be a question asked later when he and Itachi weren't in the older man's presence. Who knew how Madara would react to Sasuke acting such a question? Sasuke couldn't help but think the response would be dramatic…

"Why are you here anyway Kyuubi? I thought you were on vacation."

"In case you haven't noticed, Kyuubi is always on vacation." It was the first thing Naruto had said, and he seemed to be getting a little more comfortable with the whole situation as it was. Even though Sasuke was there. Kyuubi shrugged with a smirk as though he couldn't deny it.

"He's right you know? But I did come back from Amsterdam yesterday. Had a great trip, if you wanted to know." Kyuubi said with yet another shrug.

"Let me guess, slummed around Amsterdam, drinking, smoking, and partying? Living the life you always dreamed of?" Madara didn't seem too amused yet his tone seemed to suggest otherwise. Sasuke was really itching to know what had transpired between Kyuubi and Madara now. Their relationship just seemed off. Almost as though they would almost be considered friends if they weren't constantly quipping and sniping at each other.

"Yes sir, it was great. I got so high on hash brownies one night that I fell in the street and got taken home by an elderly woman who felt bad for me. It was awesome…She made the most tasty waffles. She was a saint that woman." Kyuubi was beaming from ear to ear. Sasuke could see the family resemblance now. They had a very loud, boisterous personality. Sasuke huffed a little, smirking to himself. "Neh? What's so funny mini-Madara_?"_

"You know, that was a dangerous situation you got yourself in. For one, you could have been hit by a car. Not to mention that woman could have killed you…You really don't think things through, do you?" Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

Kyuubi's eyes widened and his face flushed. He looked away from Sasuke and seemed to almost glance at Itachi for support, but the Uchiha was chuckling softly into his bottle. He crossed his arms over his chest and childishly began to pout. Naruto was standing off to the side, a hand over his mouth. He was bent over slightly, trying his hardest to keep his laughter in.

"Neh, such tough talk coming from a boy who face battled my brother in public. That wasn't too thought out either, don't ya think?"

Naruto instantly stopped laughing and paled. Sasuke's smirk fell right off his face and his face gained a slightly bit of color. Madara was twitching with laughter.

"Ohhhh!" Madara yelled out and threw an arm around his 'son'. "Man, he told your ass! Ah, damn, that was good too. You should have seen your face! I really hope that knocks you down a notch or two."

"_Daddy…_" Sasuke voice was a little strained and Madara threw his hands up.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Geez, bringing out the 'D' word, making me feel all old."

Kyuubi was smirking as he approached Sasuke for a second time. "One of the reasons I actually came here was because of that picture. I felt as though I wanted to get to know you, since, you seem to know my littlest treasure well enough to make face."

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, whose face was completely flushed due to the accusation. He noticed that the pretend Uchiha was looking at him and averted his gaze. Of course, Naruto was going to make this even more awkward by not looking at him. Kyuubi seemed to notice the aversion and smirked wider.

"Kyuubi…" Itachi warned but red head waved him off.

"Not now, the awkwardness between the two of them is almost disgusting. Neh, don't you two have the desire? I'm pretty sure no one would object to this union."

"It was a kiss Kyuubi, not a marriage proposal." Naruto interjected. Sasuke felt the only reason the usually loud and bursting blond was talking was just coming to people's defenses randomly. He had come to Kyuubi and now he was protecting himself and Sasuke. It was almost weird not hearing a peep from the blond. Sasuke realized then it was because he was starting to miss the sound of the blond's voice. Naruto was supposed to be his best friend, right? It was normal to feel that way. To miss him, even if it was just a little bit.

Kyuubi seemed to ignore his brother's words and wave him off, dismissing the comment completely. "Doesn't matter to me." The red head said with a shrug. "And even if you don't want to pursue anything, you shouldn't let it hurt your friendship, ya know? If I let kissing get in the way of my friendships, then Itachi and I wouldn't be very good friends."

Sasuke instantly felt something spike up in his heart, a bitterness that glazed the back of his tongue, bringing forth an almost hateful burn within his chest. He felt a pair of eyes upon him but it wasn't Itachi looking at him, but Madara. The older Uchiha almost seemed to gauge his reaction, to make sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid. Sasuke shifted his gaze towards Itachi, who had remained mostly silent throughout this whole ordeal. He was staring at Kyuubi; his eyes almost narrowed enough to be considered a glare.

Kyuubi instantly noticed the tension and went to correct his statement. "But that was a long time ago. What's in the past should stay there."

For some reason, those words stuck a chord within Sasuke. He had been living by those words for these past few weeks, hadn't he? It felt good to hear that someone also thought the same thing he did. The past was the past for a reason. Dwelling upon it only brought back ill feelings and annoying reminds of what he had escaped. Maybe Kyuubi wasn't so bad after all. Even though, Sasuke still was very curious about what did lay in Kyuubi's past. It seemed connected to not only Itachi but Madara. The unknown, it was making Sasuke anxious. He just really wanted to be in the know; he wanted to know everything about this family, especially his master. Being in the dark…it was difficult. Itachi seemed to know a lot of things about his past and he just wanted the same…

Sasuke blinked at that realization. He had never felt that way about anyone before. Sure, he really liked Itachi; he appreciated his kindness, and his inclusive nature. But this feeling…Itachi was on his mind constantly. He wanted to be close to this man, know everything about him. Was he…In love with Itachi? The fake Uchiha twitched a little. That could be dangerous. He had seen many a pet fall in love with their masters only for it to turn horribly wrong at the last second. He'd seen people returned, beaten, bloody, yet still begging for the man to take them back. They would profess their love at that moment and the owner would just turn and leave them to die or be sold again. Sasuke never thought something like that would ever happen to him, and he still hoped it wouldn't.

"Everyone's being too serious right now…" Kyuubi mused. "Neh, neh, Itachi, where's your liquor stash? We need everybody to liven up."

"Here, here. I second that motion." Madara said as he walked over to one of the bottom cabinets. Itachi rolled his eyes as his uncle pulled out a vintage bottle of rum. He popped the cap on it and took a deep sniff. "Oh yeah, this is what I'm talking about. Someone break out the party favors!"

Sasuke frowned a little. This situation was getting more and more dangerous as the seconds passed. He could barely keep his secret in sober, how the hell was he going to pull this off drunk? And another thing…Sasuke had never been under the influence of anything before. Aside from the strange pills they used to give them at Danzo's compound, but that had just been to keep their hyperactive, childish nature subdued. He only had to take those pills for a month when he was eight, but even still, he hadn't like the feeling it brought over him. However, alcohol may have been different from that feeling. The pills brought him down, and hard, he had been lethargic and couldn't focus because of how sluggish and sleepy he felt.

But, this could be way different right? He wouldn't know until he tried it…  
>-<p>

Sasuke smiled as he clinked his shot glass with Madara's. It had all seemed like blur of craziness. Within two hours of them cracking open the bottle, everyone was on their ass. The house was filled with laughter, mostly Kyuubi's, but it was almost more welcoming that way. It actually felt like what a house should, warm, full of acceptance and love. It was nice. After Sasuke downed what was left in his glass, he slumped over onto Madara's lap, who actually accepted him without a fuss. He gently ran his fingers through the delicate, silky spikes. Sasuke let out a soft sigh of contentment, wishing that it wasn't Madara, but Itachi who was petting him. But, in his current mood, he wasn't going to be choosey.

"Awww, even though Madara is the epitome of evil, he's still a big old softy for his son." Kyuubi mused as he removed his arm from around Itachi's shoulders. The Uchiha rolled his eyes but still continued to pet the pretend son, seeming to very much enjoy the contact. Sasuke was facing outward so he could still see everyone and he flashed his gaze over to Itachi's eyes. The look there was one of arousal and maybe a little bit of jealousy. Sasuke liked it; he wanted Itachi to be possessive and jealous. He felt that if they made love later, it was going to be passionate and feral. It was going to let their base instincts run wild.

"Well, he is my loin fruit."

"You know," Sasuke said suddenly, "fruit isn't the offspring of plants, seeds are. Fruit is the ripe ovaries of the plant. And last time I checked, that didn't make me loin fruit."

Itachi chuckled softly as he took a sip of whatever he had been nursing for the past half-hour. "He's right Madara."

"Hush loin fruit, you're ruining the moment." Madara said coddling Sasuke closer into his body. The fake Uchiha struggled for a moment before freeing himself. "Wow, he's got the drunken strength."

Sasuke stood up, shakily and stumbled his way over to the couch where Naruto was seated. He laid his head back, closing his eyes so he could relax more and instantly felt warmth on his body. He cracked his eye open and wasn't too surprised to see Naruto snuggling up to him. The blond was drunk. But then again so was he. He flopped his head down, not really noticing until the action was complete, that his nose was in the blond's hair and that he was actually nuzzling him affectionately. Sasuke could feel the eyes upon him, they were waiting, wondering, watching, just curious as to what he would do next.

But before the raven could actually do anything, Naruto pulled his head up and planted a soft, rum flavored kiss on Sasuke's surprised lips. The fake Uchiha blinked as his head was gripped a little forcefully. He was pulled down and slightly mouth raped by the overzealous blond. But after a few moments of rough kissing, Sasuke got into the feel of it. He didn't understand what his body was doing, he knew Madara, Kyuubi, and Itachi were all right there but he couldn't stop himself. The kiss was nice though, it was rougher than what he was used to and it almost surprised him that Naruto was being so domineering and feral with him. It was…A welcomed change.

Sasuke pushed at Naruto's chest when he heard the flirtatious, girly laughter of Kyuubi. The blond pulled back with a sigh of annoyance and glanced over Sasuke's shoulder to see what was going on as well. It was obvious the time, people, and place had slipped his mind. Kyuubi was all over Itachi in that moment, muttering things against his neck and sending sideways glances over at the entangled duo. Kyuubi grabbed Itachi's face and brought it down so he could whisper in the Uchiha's ear. For some reason, whatever Kyuubi had said really upset Itachi because he stood up instantly, shoving the red head off of him. He walked into the kitchen and Madara held up a hand to Sasuke saying he would follow his nephew. The pretend Uchiha wondered what Kyuubi could have said…Itachi never seemed very fazed by anything but whatever it was; it must have really pushed the line.

"Sasuke, hey, focus for a minute…" Naruto muttered against his neck. The harshly whispered words sent chills down his spine. The air against his skin was hot, yet still tickled. The raven shuddered as he looked back at the blond. "This isn't how I wanted things to go…But, well, don't think badly of me for making this suggestion." Naruto's voice was more controlled that Sasuke had been expecting. The control made him inwardly shiver with arousal he didn't know Naruto could produce in him. "How about we go to your room where it will be a bit more private?"

Sasuke didn't know if it was just all of the alcohol hitting him at one time or if it was panic that made him pull away from Naruto. He felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He just needed a little room to breathe and get his head on straight. He rushed into the kitchen and just stood there, his hands resting on the cool marble of the island. Madara was standing opposite of him, a cool glass of water in hand. He blinked at his 'son' before handing it over to the boy. The Uchiha couldn't help but think that Sasuke looked like he was about to faint.

Madara walked around the island so that he was standing beside Sasuke. The pretend Uchiha didn't realize how thirsty he was until the water was in his hand; he gulped it down greedily, letting it spill down his throat and chest, wetting the shirt he was wearing. Madara watched calmly, licking his lips unconsciously as he watched the drops of water cascade down the unmarred, pale flesh. He grabbed the glass from Sasuke and tilted his chin up so that the younger raven would look him in the eyes. When Sasuke had finished water was still soaking his skin and chest but the look on his face, the way he seemed almost dazed, it reminded Madara of...Izuna. The Uchiha instantly snapped out of that thought. Even though Sasuke looked like him, sometimes acted like him, he was not Izuna. And he could never replace him…

"My, my, what a mess you've made." He muttered as he softly ran his fingers up Sasuke's neck, catching the drops on his fingers. He brought them to his mouth and licked them off as though they were a treat of the gods. "Sweet…"

Madara let go of Sasuke's chin and there was a faint pinkness of to the younger raven's cheeks as he did. The Uchiha liked it. Sasuke was submissive towards him, just like he was towards Itachi. He petted Sasuke's face softly; his thumb gently caressing the contours of his smooth, soft skin. It was as though Madara was mapping it and committing it to memory. Sasuke leaned into the touch seeming to make a soft purring noise in the back of his throat; Madara liked that too, smirking to show his appreciation of the noise. Eventually he dropped his thumb down and ran it across Sasuke's bottom lip, noting how full and bruised it was getting from Naruto's harsh kiss.

Lust was starting to cloud Madara's better judgment. But how could it not? Sasuke was looking up at him, his big eyes sparkling with innocence and confusion. The boy was just being so completely and utterly submissive…How could he not want to bed the poor thing right then and there? A flash of Itachi crossed his mind but he put that in the back of his mind. Though, if he was caught doing anything to his nephew's dearest pet, Itachi would be quite furious with him. Itachi had stepped out in the back for a breather, which, Madara knew would only get him about ten to fifteen minutes alone with his 'son'. That wasn't much time to do any damage really. Not to mention there were other nuisances in the other room like that brat Kyuubi and his adorable little brother. He pulled Sasuke into his chest and started to pet his head again, enjoying the feeling of the spikes in his fingers…This also reminded him of Izuna. He shook his head. It was almost hard to process that Sasuke wasn't Izuna, they looked so similar, they were both so emotional…And it just made his boil bubble with lust.

Sasuke was confused about what was happening. Madara was being uncommonly nice to him. Usually Madara made snappy comments but was generally fine to be around. Today, however, he was all affection. Itachi usually only showed him this much affection when they were alone…And usually a bit more. But that wasn't the point. Madara must have wanted something from the raven; he was just acting out of character. And frankly, it was starting to weird Sasuke out. Sure, it was nice to get pleasant attention from Madara instead of him making threats or being physically aggressive, but he was far more used to that than this.

Madara let out a breathy sigh as he kissed the top of Sasuke's head. "Why are you teasing me like this?" He asked the small figure in his arms. He was speaking into Sasuke's scalp and the warm breath on his skin made him shudder against Madara's frame. "It's okay…Just let me hold you a little longer…" He held Sasuke a little closer, squeezing a little more. Madara didn't know why his heart suddenly felt so seized by the tiny boy in his arms. He let a sigh escape his lips which contained a whisper of a name. "Izuna…" Sasuke looked up at the Uchiha and he couldn't help but steal a kiss from those plumped, darkened lips. They were sweet with the alcohol he'd be drinking and he had his own unique taste too, something Madara couldn't label, but if anything it was the sweetness of innocence. His hands trailed down Sasuke's back, caressing a more than firm backside, which earned him a soft hitch in the raven's breath.

To him, Sasuke had become far less guarded; far more open that when he was normally. And with that openness came a feigned sense of innocence which drove deeply into the lusts of men. The wickedness of the drink could do that though. Bring out a softer side but still strike the heart with darker, eviler traits of the soul and flesh. When he pulled back from Sasuke, he looked confused and that struck a dark note within Madara. He could have had this…He could have had this all along.

Why had he been so foolish? Madara shook himself of that thought. He'd done it for the right reasons. He'd done it for Itachi…But now he couldn't help but think…

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Itachi's voice rang clear as a bell, cutting his thoughts before he could even formulate them in a cohesive manner.

"Just holding the boy," He replied, continuing to pet Sasuke softly. "Is that against the rules now?"

"No, no, I didn't mean that. I meant the thing you thought I didn't see."

Madara didn't pause in his ministrations though. "Oh that? What's a kiss between family?"

Itachi eyes narrowed as he took his uncle in. Under the influence Madara became a little…Strange. He was far more whimsical, and tending to remember things from his past that drastically affected his actions in the present. Itachi couldn't help but wonder if, while he was holding Sasuke, it reminded him of his Uncle Izuna. Sasuke did look strikingly like his late uncle. "Madara…I know what time of the year it is…To Sasuke this is probably very confusing."

"What is he talking about Madara?" The older Uchiha glanced down at the large and confused charcoal black eyes. Those eyes…They were so similar…

"Nothing that concerns you dearest," Madara muttered as he released Sasuke from his grip. "He's just jealous I got to taste your sugar." He started to walk back into the living room but paused halfway through the kitchen. "Oh and Sasuke?" The boy perked up at the sound of his name and glanced towards Madara. "If you call me 'daddy' again, I'd prefer it in bed." A flush crept up Sasuke's cheeks at the mental image of Madara's large body pinning him down, making him surrender to his influence. But he shook himself of that imagine when he heard Madara chuckle softly.

"Itachi, what were you talking about? I noticed he's been acting strange since he saw Kyuubi…"

"It's not just Kyuubi…" Itachi replied hastily. "This month is the darkest in Uchiha history."

Sasuke glanced pointedly at his master and Itachi had a troubled look upon his face. He hadn't been very direct with his response earlier so Sasuke had no idea what Itachi was trying to refer to. He didn't know anything about the Uchiha clan so how was he supposed to know about the darkest month in their history? Sasuke felt himself getting more curious as the seconds ticked on and couldn't help his thoughts from flickering to the basement. That was bound to have SOMETHING. He wasn't a hundred percent sure, but how would he know if he didn't look?

Itachi looked down at Sasuke and grabbed his wrist softly. When Sasuke had kissed Naruto, somehow it was very appealing to Itachi. He liked to see Sasuke in the midst of passion, especially having a front row seat for it. But, he knew Naruto felt that desire without alcohol, so he needed it to stop. He didn't know why he felt so jealous. Sasuke wasn't particularly interested in Naruto besides for his friendship but even still, that kiss boiled his blood like no other. It made him want to reach over and snatch his pet from the blond's clutches. And Kyuubi's comment hadn't helped much either. Telling him that "Madara's son was a very fuckable little princess" pushed his jealousy right over the edge. Plus Kyuubi hanging off of him and trying to kiss him brought back many, many unwanted memories.

"Itachi…What exactly happened that made Kyuubi and Naruto hate Madara?" Itachi bit his bottom lip as a few vivid images flashed in his mind. He supposed it wouldn't hurt for Sasuke to know what had transpired.

"The entire Uzumaki clan does not favor Madara…" Itachi corrected. "I suppose I can tell you this, though I'm slightly surprised Naruto didn't. About five or so years ago when Kyuubi and I still went to college together, Kyuubi came home with me and we found Madara waiting. The attraction between them was instant. Madara isn't picky with his lovers and neither is Kyuubi, so the age different wasn't an issue. Do you remember me telling you Uzumakis fall for Uchihas?" Sasuke nodded once, knowing right away where this was heading. "Well, Kyuubi had given up on me and us becoming lovers but to him Madara was new, he was fresh. And when Kyuubi fell for Madara, he fell hard. And for a while, I actually thought they were going to have a great relationship and that it might actually go somewhere for both of them. Kyuubi seemed to warm the ice off Madara's heart and Madara controlled Kyuubi's more wild side. But, I was wrong, oh God, I was so wrong. I didn't even see it coming. One day Madara just snapped and ended the relationship completely. He ripped Kyuubi's heart out and stomped on it. He gave no explanation, wouldn't listen to Kyuubi's pleas. It seemed to me that as soon as Madara had gotten bored with Kyuubi, he just moved on, like it hadn't meant anything at all. I wasn't exactly sure what I had been expecting though. Madara has always been a cold person but even I thought this was a little extreme…" Itachi trailed off a bit at the end, looking down at Sasuke. "After they broke up that's when Kyuubi dropped out of college and started his crazy spiral of drugs and alcohol. That's when the trips to other countries started too…He couldn't handle it anymore and he just tried to escape everything in his life."

"But why do they blame Madara? He couldn't have known that Kyuubi was going to fly off the handle like that." Sasuke said. He didn't know why he was defending Madara. He usually hated the man, quite a bit.

"Because all of the nonsense started at the time of break-up. It's easier to blame others instead of yourself, even though, it is, at the very least, partially Madara's fault." Itachi said with a shrug. "But that's in the past and Kyuubi's gotten over it, for the most part anyway. He still has an infatuation with Uchihas though. He thinks you're cute so be wary of Kyuubi right now…And Naruto for that matter."

Sasuke looked down at his feet, kicking invisible dirt with them. "Listen Itachi…I didn't mean for Naruto and I to do that…"

"I'm aware of that much." Itachi said as he petted the raven on the head. "Just…Be more careful around him, okay? If we didn't have what we had right now, or you hated me, I could very easily see you being with Naruto. You'd be a very good match."

Itachi swallowed the bitter taste in the back of his throat. He had never really been jealous of anything before and this wasn't the best time for him to feel like this. Especially since those two annoyances were still in the house, just a mere meter or two away from them at this very moment. Hopefully Madara was keeping them entertained because they'd be here until the liquor wore off. But that still didn't mean he and Sasuke couldn't have quality alone time tonight. The older man smirked as he leaned in, sneaking a soft peck from those sweet, plump lips. "Sasuke, go to my room. Now. I'm going to excuse us for the night."

Sasuke felt the heat gathering in more areas than just his face and he nodded at his master. "Whatever master wants, master gets." Sasuke purred the last part, grinning wickedly before he turned to enter the living room. Sasuke's composure instantly changed. He had his hand over his mouth and one on his stomach, stumbling far more exaggeratedly than before. He slumped towards the stairs before slowly climbing up them. Madara looked curiously towards the doorway where Itachi was looming; they exchanged a few quick smirks before Itachi stepped into the room himself.

"Aww, mini-Madara partied too hard." Kyuubi muttered, sounding disappointed. He had obviously enjoyed Sasuke presence a little too much. "Even when he just party-fouled, that boy is mighty fine."

"My son we're talking about…" Madara muttered as he poured himself another drink.

"Then take it as a compliment." The red head replied snappily. Naruto was leaning against his brother's shoulder, snuggling up to him. He didn't look particularly amused when he glanced at the older Uchiha but wasn't in a foul mood either because his brother was coddled against him so adorably. He gave the blond a small kiss on his temple.

"I guess he does get his devilish good looks from his old man." The older man said with a smirk, finishing off his drink without a bat of an eye. Itachi walked into the room.

"Well for now I'm going to baby your son until he goes to sleep." Itachi said as he ran a hand through his hair. Madara knew Itachi looked annoyed, but it was all a ploy for him to get that little raven underneath him. He had never seen such a passionate, possessive fury inside his nephew before. It was appealing to Madara's more than wicked side. "Don't party too hard uncle, we have work in the morning."

"I call big couch!" Kyuubi yelled suddenly throwing his arms in the air.

"Ah dammit…" Naruto muttered under his breath. "Tiny couch it is…"

"Neh, it's okay, we can cuddle." The red head said as he nuzzled his brother's hair softly. "We've shared beds before."

Itachi shook his head. "Kyuubi you know where the extra blankets and things are. Help yourselves to anything in the house."

"WOOOOO! SLUMBER PARTY AT ITACHI'S HOUSE." Kyuubi yelled. "Man, we haven't had slumber party since we were sixteen…" The younger Uchiha rolled his eyes and smiled at his drunken friend. "If I have a nightmare, can I come cuddle in your bed?"

"Afraid not. Sasuke will be in bed with me tonight." Itachi blurted out. The Uzumaki brothers were giving him strange looks but Itachi quickly recovered. "I have a bathroom in my room, it'll free up the other one for your use. Unless you want Sasuke vomiting all night in there while I keep my door locked?"

"Oh no," Madara said suddenly. "I am not shoving Sasuke out of the way so I can piss. I may love that kid but I'm not scaring him with my massive dick." No one resisted rolling their eyes at that comment. "Besides, he might drunkenly lock the door and that would just make me want to kill him so bad." He was smiling while he said that, nursing the bottle in his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Kyuubi said with a wave of his hand. "Now get outta here babysitter boy, I'm trying to party."

Itachi took that as the perfect opportunity to escape before Kyuubi tried to suck him back into conversation. Even though he had kept himself completely contained in the living room, as soon as he ascended the stairs, a wicked, lustful smirk blossomed across his features.

He had taken Sasuke several times by this point, but every time he did it, it just got better and better. The boy learned quickly and was very responsive to his touches. But today, however, would be very different. Sasuke would have to contain that sinful voice of his. He couldn't allow the others to know what they were up to. Well everyone besides Madara, he already knew and that much was obvious.

When he opened his door he was greeted with Sasuke already removing his clothing. Itachi's smirk only widened as he shut and locked the door behind him. Itachi found himself already pulled at the shirt on his chest, removing it swiftly. The raven didn't seem alerted at all when a pair of slim pale arms encircled his waist, pulling him back into the strong body. Lips were upon Sasuke's pale skin within an instant. The Uchiha couldn't still his hands either. They were caressing, massaging, and groping every inch of open skin. Sasuke was already shaking with anticipation as lust entered his blood stream, making him weak in the knee. He turned around so that he could face Itachi, getting on his tip toes so he could seal their lips together. Itachi's head swam with the lingering effects of alcohol and lust. He hadn't taken anyone under the influence in a while. He forgot how much of a rush it was. His cock twitched to life when his tongue dipped into that sweeten cavern, remapping his mouth and teeth for the umpteenth time now. Itachi couldn't help but just let the lust take over, Sasuke did that too him. He seemingly just lost control over himself. It was strange yet very welcomed.

"Itachi…" Sasuke breathed against his lips. "Please?" The innocence in that plea was almost outweighed by the sheer lust of his tone.

"What do you want me to do?" He replied, his lips attacking that pale, beautiful neck. It still had some remnants of their previous lovemaking. But the cooler weather allowed Sasuke to wear higher collared shirts so no one ever seemed to notice. Sasuke whined softly as lips and fingers sinfully stroked his still shaking frame. Itachi's finger found the warmed metal of Sasuke's nipple ring and gave it a soft tug, making the smaller raven arch into the touch. The Uchiha loved these modifications so much. It had made Sasuke more sensitive and begging to be touched even after a few small, teasing pulls. Itachi noticed this was the most his control had ever slipped with the boy. His fingers and mouth couldn't stop devouring and tasting that delicious skin. The tugging and molesting wouldn't stop. He wanted all of Sasuke, all of him. And he wanted it to himself. Sasuke could feel the possessiveness of the touches and couldn't help but crave more of this man. He wanted Itachi to be rough with him, wild, and just take him as hard and passionately as he could. That was what he wanted him to do.

"Please take me…" Sasuke pleaded. His wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck, pulling himself closer to the larger man. He buried his head in Itachi's chest and started to kiss the pale skin that resided there. He alternated between kisses and licks as he slowly yet steadily dropped to his knees. He popped the button of Itachi's jeans and pulled them down swiftly. Itachi's cock was already so hard and Sasuke's soft puffs of warm air only made the Uchiha even more excited. Sasuke gripped it firmly before taking the head into his mouth, sucking it softly. The bulb of his tongue ring rubbed the underside if the Uchiha's cock, switching the textures of Sasuke's mouth. His tongue was slick and had a slightly textured feel but the ring was different. It was smooth and small, giving him both sensations at one time when Sasuke licked. Itachi purred with delight and he stroked Sasuke's hair lovingly, encouraging him to do more. His tongue removed the pre-cum dripping from it and savored the taste on his tongue. He started to suck more into his mouth and Itachi's breath hitched when Sasuke's bottom teeth scraped a particularly sensitive area. The raven looked up at his master, his charcoal eyes sparkling with desire. Itachi loved the sight of it, Sasuke's mouth spread around his cock while he looked up with such dazzling eyes. It was a sight he'd burn in his memory; it was so arousing to him.

Sasuke was trying his best to shove Itachi's massive girth past the circle of his throat but it was difficult because it was just so large. He wasn't an expert at this yet. This was only the third time he'd done this for Itachi but he actually enjoyed it. He liked eliciting such delectably arousing groans from his master's lips. Itachi's breath hitched as his hands went down into the silken spikes. He also liked that, when Itachi's strong hands would scratch against his scalp and his control would slip more and more. He loved it when Itachi just threw all caution into the wind and let his more domineering, feral side run wild.

The raven bobbed his head slowly but steadily on the cock in his mouth, sucking his cheeks in so that the soft flesh would tease Itachi harshly. The motions were replied to with a tightened grip in his hair, Itachi was fisting the locks as loosely as he could so he wouldn't hurt his pet but was difficult to resist. He wanted to grab Sasuke's head and still it so he could thrust his cock into that succulent, dirty mouth. Self-control was slipping quickly from Itachi and he knew if this continued any longer he could be doing things to his pet he would regret.

Sasuke's mouth was so warm and soft. Even though he was inexperienced, the younger raven was responsive to Itachi's requests and was very eager to please. What he lacked in skill he made up for in enthusiasm. And how could Itachi not like that? It meant Sasuke tried harder, sucked more, brought him close to the brink but then teased him away. Itachi growled a little as he started to thrust into Sasuke's mouth. He stilled his head and allowed Itachi to do as he pleased, relaxing his throat as much as he could as Itachi's massive girth passed in and out of his lips. Sasuke shifted, palming his already leaking erection. Itachi was turning him on so much that his cock was starting to hurt with pent up lust. The Uchiha looked down and saw that Sasuke was growing more and more impatient and was reduced to pleasuring himself. Itachi needed him…He needed him now.

"Sasuke, that's enough." Itachi said breathlessly. The raven pulled his mouth back about to say something in protest when he was roughly grabbed and lifted from the ground to Itachi's bed. Sasuke was flopped onto his stomach and didn't even get a chance to move when he felt the bed shift behind him. Itachi's form was looming over him and he felt suddenly hands gently tracing his spine. He relaxed into the touches, loving how gentle Itachi was at the moment. But he shivered with anticipation knowing this attention would soon change. And sure enough as soon as the fingers were slowly making their way to his entrance, Itachi's control snapped again. He pulled Sasuke's limp body up so he was settled against Itachi's chest once again. He captured Sasuke's lips harshly, teeth clashing, lips being bitten. Sasuke moaned softly and Itachi gripped the smaller raven's face. "Sasuke, you have to be quiet tonight, okay? We don't to want to alert anyone, do we?"

Sasuke shook his head and Itachi kissed him again. It was going to be difficult for Itachi as well though; he liked when Sasuke was noisy, and wouldn't hold back the pleasure building in his body. He would have to exhibit a little more control than he wanted to. But, given the current situation, he didn't know if he could.

It was all going so fast; Sasuke's head was spinning and drowning in lust. Itachi was being open with his lust; he was being controlling and fierce. He didn't know why it was turning him on so much. He assumed that it was because Itachi was usually so gentle and sweet with him that this new shift in personality made it more interesting. He didn't know what Itachi do next and that those thoughts made him shiver with pleasure. Itachi could make him do anything and he was fine with it. He wanted Itachi to be rougher even a little crueler to him. Sasuke purred as he leaned his head back to suck softly at his lover's neck. He bit Itachi gently making the man pressed against him twitch, groaning between gritted teeth. "Take me…Take me now. I don't want to wait anymore." Sasuke was arching his back and grinding his ass on Itachi's throbbing cock. "I don't care if it hurts…"

Itachi moved quickly and he shoved Sasuke head down so he was face down in the pillows. On his knees and with Itachi's hand firmly keeping his head in place, Sasuke couldn't see what Itachi was doing, what he was plotting. He moaned when he felt the head of the Uchiha's cock press against his hole. Itachi noticed that it was surprisingly wet. He chuckled darkly and Sasuke's entire body quaked with need. The Uchiha ground his cock hotly against Sasuke's hole and he had to shove his face in the pillows so he wouldn't let out a moan that was ripping from his throat.

"Come now Sasuke, don't be so wanton…" Itachi shoved the tip of his cock right against that quivering, wet hole, grinding it harder so it slightly penetrated. "This place is already lewd and craving for me."

Sasuke's words were muffled by the pillow but Itachi heard a faint plea from his lover. Itachi removed his hand from the younger raven's hair and used it to spread Sasuke's ass more, giving him an even better view of his entrance. He pulled his cock back and for a moment just appreciated the view. The Uchiha lowered his face in, lapping the hole with his tongue before darting his tongue inside. This always made Sasuke quake and shudder in the most delicious way possible. Itachi cock twitched with excitement when Sasuke moaned into the pillow. It was loud and lusty even though it was still muffled, he could hear the pleasure in Sasuke's voice. It was getting too difficult to continue preparing his lover; his cock was just twitching painful and wanted release.

Itachi gripped Sasuke's hips and slowly pushed his cock inside of Sasuke. The younger gripped the pillow tightly as the hot flesh stretched him like he had never been stretched before. It was painful but at the same time it had such a raw, passionate pleasure that Sasuke couldn't help but cum at the feeling. Itachi chuckled again at the sight as he gently massaged his lover's back, helping the muscles relax. "Like a little pain, Sasuke?" Itachi's voice was harsh with lust and he bent over Sasuke, shoving his cock in deeper so he could kiss and suck at the pale skin of Sasuke's exposed back.

The Uchiha reached under his lover and started to stroke and tug at Sasuke's cock springing it life as his thrust in again. The raven arched his back and threw his head back in a silent scream as the pleasure from his orgasm was ridden out hard, giving him even more painful pleasure. Itachi didn't like not seeing Sasuke face as he made love to his hole. He grabbed Sasuke's body and made him sit on his cock, the position made Itachi shudder as the tight, hot walls pulled him deeper. The younger raven's body was just a quivering mess of nerves; he was almost incapable of making noise because everything was too much for him to process. Sasuke whimpered something that Itachi couldn't make out because of how much the raven was slurring and muttering his words. It drove the Uchiha crazy and his frenzied, messy thrusts filled Sasuke again and again. He shoved his fingers into the younger's mouth, pulling his jaw down so his words and moans would be more muffled and incoherent. Sasuke could taste the sweat of his skin and the sweetness of his arousal on Itachi's fingers. He sucked on them and even nibbled to tease his master.

Itachi growled as he once again changed their position. He pulled out and turned Sasuke he was facing the Uchiha before forcibly laying him down, shoving his cock deep within the raven again. Sasuke arched his back up, grinding his leaking arousal into Itachi's taunt, firm stomach. Itachi gripped onto Sasuke's thighs and wasn't satisfied with his current deepness. He wanted Sasuke's body to be sore with the satisfaction of their lovemaking. "Fuck…" Sasuke cried as he bit the back of his hand to silence himself. Itachi's mouth attached to Sasuke's neck, leaving a dark purple mark on his pale, beautiful flesh. The muffled cries he was hearing from Sasuke encouraged him greatly. Itachi wanted to be deeper in this body; he wanted to make his lover's back arch and his mouth hang open with silent screams of pleasure. That's what Itachi wanted and he wanted it now.

The Uchiha grabbed onto Sasuke's legs and threw them over his shoulders. It brought the smaller body closer and pushed him even deeper when he thrusted into that succulently warm hole. Sasuke couldn't hold his noises and resorted to covering his mouth while Itachi fucked him deeply. His eyes rolled back as he felt his second orgasm approaching at a dizzying speed. It was too much but not enough at the same time. Itachi grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled it away from his mouth. He bent Sasuke in half as he captured those abused, bruised lips with his own. Sasuke couldn't take it. He just couldn't. He came on his own chest and Itachi groaned hotly against Sasuke's lips as his own orgasm hit him like a brick wall. Sasuke's walls were tightly squeezing him to such a blissed state that he gave one final thrust before spilling his seed deeply with Sasuke's wanton hole. The younger raven was shaking from the second powerful orgasm and the feeling of being filled. Itachi pulled out and lay down next to Sasuke, pulling the smaller body into his arms, kissing him deeply and repeatedly. The raven was smiling sleepily.

To Sasuke that was a mind-blowing experience. It was something he would have never thought Itachi capable of and it was great relief to see that Itachi wouldn't constantly put him upon and pedestal and wouldn't act out his true desires with him. Sasuke kissed his master and rolled onto his side so that he was facing Itachi. "I love you, Itachi." The words slipped out of his mouth before he could fully comprehend what he was saying and the Uchiha's eyes widened. Sasuke instantly regretted his choice of words until he noticed Itachi pulling him closer, snuggling his face into the dark locks of hair.

"I love you too, Sasuke." Sasuke was stunned to hear the words come back to him. He hadn't known how much he had actually worried about how Itachi felt for him until those words came out. It felt like a weight was removed from his chest and he could breathe fully for the first time. "So much Sasuke, I love you. I'll always protect you. I'll never let anyone hurt you again…"

Sasuke snuggled closer to the warm body next to him and as he fell asleep in Itachi's arms, he fell asleep with a smile.  
>-<p>

**The next morning. (Just a warning, ya'll are going to hate me when this is over and the lyrics at the beginning will make more sense.)**

Sasuke woke up with a start when he heard the slamming of the front door. He looked over at the clock on the stand next to the bed and noticed it was actually a little later in the day, almost eleven. It must have been Kyuubi and Naruto who just left then. The raven sat up and spied a quickly written note sitting by the clock. It was from Itachi. He snatched greedily and then felt the throbbing pain of his back and ass. Next time he would ask Itachi to go easier on him. Or just make sure he had enough time to properly rest afterwards. Though, even if Sasuke was in pain, the raven was still happy about the encounter. Itachi had released his full passion and he had never seen Itachi so…Wild and freed. It was a great moment for the pretend Uchiha.

He opened the note which read:

"_Sasuke, sorry about not saying goodbye but I woke up late. I'll be coming home for lunch though, around one or so. I'll see you then. I love you." _

Sasuke smiled to himself. He was happy to know how Itachi really felt about him. It was a relief and it was just nice to know that someone in this world had pleasant feelings about it. Besides his idiotic best friend. He rolled over on his back and giggled slightly. So this was what being in love felt like? He felt like he was on cloud nine and that finally, after everything that had happened, he had gotten the pay off. The raven got up, stretching a little, trying to ease the soreness of his back and ass. It just seemed to be making it worse though. He walked into Itachi's bathroom, hoping the hot water on his muscles would make him feel better.

After scrubbing the sweat and dried, sticky cum off his body he headed back out into the room. His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten last night because he had been consumed with the partying. Sasuke sighed to himself as he grabbed a pair of Itachi's sweat pants, smirking slight as he slipped them on. It was almost strange to think that Itachi wore these and a battered old sweatshirt when no one else was around on his days off. Itachi was comfortable enough with Sasuke to let him see the Uchiha in the scrubby get-up and that made Sasuke's heart bubble at the thought. Itachi was just a normal guy really and he really couldn't be happier about that.

He opened the door and Sharingan was meowing loudly as soon as he stepped out. Obviously Itachi had forgotten to feed his pet which was why he was so whinny. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll get you your breakfast too." Sasuke muttered as the cat lovingly rubbed against his legs, weaving between them as the pretend Uchiha walked towards his destination. In the kitchen Sharingan wailed madly as he sat at his bowl while Sasuke looked for a box of cereal. "Hey, I gotta eat first. If I died of starvation who would be here to feed you then?" The cat flicked his tail, annoyed but almost seeming to understand. Sasuke sighed softly as he grabbed the small bag of food from the bottom cabinet and filled the tiny plastic scoop with cat food. He dumped it into the cat's bowl and he instantly started to eat. "Happy?" The cat ignored him and kept eating. "You're welcome…"

Sasuke finished his breakfast and headed out into the living room, cleaning up a bit before Itachi came home. They hadn't really been too messy when they were drunk but there were still some abandoned dishes and bottles lying around. He wondered if Madara was still here but figured if Itachi was at work then he probably dragged Madara out with him. He placed everything in their proper places and while he was washing dishes a thought dawned on him. Itachi wasn't home now and neither was his annoying uncle. So what did that mean for him? He could finally go into the basement and snoop around for hints about Itachi's past. He was just so curious about it, he couldn't help himself.

He stopped what he was doing and turned off the water, feeling drawn towards the basement. The small hallway was still as he left it. Dark and foreboding. He descended the stairs, noting how the wood creaked underneath his feet. Oh yes, he would finally do it today. He would find out what Itachi's life had been before this. Sharingan meowed at the top of the stairs and Sasuke ignored him, opening the door, which was a little more difficult since it seemed to be stuck in place with lack of use. Sasuke coughed a little when he entered the room. It was dusty and stagnant, even the windows at ground level didn't really let much air or light in. Sasuke felt around on the wall for a switch, twitching a little when his hand touched a spider web. He flipped the lights on and noticed that Itachi kept a remotely clean room down here. Sure, it was dusty, but everything seemed organized.

Sasuke walked towards a box that caught his attention right away. It was labeled, _'Family'_ written in large, black letters. This was probably one of the best places to start anyway. He got on his knees and pulled the box open, waving the air in front of his face. So dusty…

He grabbed an album from the top without a name on it. It could have easily been a family photo album but for some reason Sasuke felt that wasn't the case. There seemed to be something different about it. He opened the cover of the book and was greeted right away with an article from a newspaper. **"Uchiha Madara, the Next Billionaire in the Making?" **was the title and Sasuke wasn't particularly interested in that. Madara was all over the tabloids now anyway, if he really wanted to know more about him, he would just turn on the television.

He flipped through the pages noting that they followed a pattern of success and triumph for the Uchiha clan. It was nice to know that Itachi thought so highly of his family. Well, enough to record their accomplishments and keep them somewhere. He finished with that book and set it behind him. The next one was a little slimmer than the first and Sasuke opened it after brushing the dust off the cover. He wondered if this one also would regale him in the Madara's past accomplishments. He opened the cover and was instantly struck by the title of the article. **"Uchiha Wife Found Dead in Home." **

Had…Had Itachi's mother been _murdered_? Was that what he dreamed about at night? There was an aguish and fear in his voice when he moaned in his sleep so it could be probable. Sasuke's eyes adjusted to the small print of the paper and his heart instantly dropped to the bottom of his stomach.

"_October 14 19XX. Approximately two nights ago Uchiha Fugaku, age 41, received a phone call from his crying, troubled child, Uchiha Itachi, age 8. He rushed home to discover that his wife was dead. It seemed that his wife, Uchiha Mikoto, age 39, was shot in their home. When police arrived on the scene and the corpse was later examined, it was determined that Uchiha Mikoto had taken her own life, freeing her husband from a possible murder charge. The note at the scene detailed a horrible emptiness and a personal failure on her part for when she lost her second son. This second child is, as many people know, to this day, still missing and presumed dead. Uchiha Fugaku could not be found to answer some of the other pressing questions from the press…" _

The article continued regaling the scene and what else was found. Sasuke's heart was beating in his ears. Itachi had found his mother, only eight years old…And she was dead. Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek and rescanned the article. He was curious about the mysterious other child who seemed to be missing. He wondered what that was about. Itachi never mentioned having any siblings to him. But then again, if it was said he was presumed dead then it wouldn't be the easiest thing to mention in conversation.

Sasuke flipped the page and a second article caught his eye. **"Uchiha Madara Dealt A Stunning Blow: Uchiha Suicide." **

"_October 12 20XX. Uchiha Madara, age 45, was in his home when he and his nephew, Uchiha Itachi, age 16, heard a gunshot go off down stairs. Thinking it was a malicious intruder, Madara sprang into action. But what he found wasn't an intruder. It was his nephew Itachi, in a state of shell shock from the sight before him. Uchiha Izuna, age 42, was shot dead in a downstairs bathroom. He had also cut open his wrists and written on the mirror, 'This secret cannot live within me. Forgive me Madara.' In his own blood before he took a handgun and took his own life. Madara tried to apply emergency aid and CPR but Izuna was too far gone…"_

Sasuke's hands were shaking as he read that article. Itachi hadn't just seen his mother's suicide, but also his younger uncles. Sasuke presumed this was why Madara was so cold now. His brother had committed suicide in his own house and he couldn't stop him. He didn't know and he couldn't do a single thing to save his brother's life. His eyes were starting to sting. Wetness caught Sasuke's attention and he wiped the tear off his cheek, not realizing he had been crying. This was all too much. How could Itachi be the person he was after all this tragedy?

Sasuke didn't know if he wanted to continue looking around. If he found this wasn't it enough to appease his curiosity? But a detail kept coming back to him. The missing child. He hadn't seen anything about that yet. He flipped the pages of the book and nothing came up about it. There were scattered mentions of the suicides and how the family was coping with the deaths. Not what he was looking for. It was interesting but it made his heart ache so much. He didn't want to read about it anymore. He set the book aside with the other and kept digging around in the box. He found old photo albums and skimmed through the pictures. There was one that caught his attention right away. It was a photo of the entire family, Itachi, what he assumed was his father and mother, Madara and who he believed to be Izuna but at the end it was torn off. There was a small, white plastic handle sticking up by Izuna's face. It seemed to be what Sasuke could only surmise as a baby carrier…

Why would they have ripped it out? Sasuke didn't understand and his thoughts became more and more scattered as he saw more ripped pictures. One of which had a very long looking Itachi cut off at the upper torso. He was looking down to where his arms should have been and smiling softly. It must have been the child in his arms. That was the only thing Sasuke could think. He held back a sob feeling all of the pain and suffering in that moment. How could this all have happened to one family? It was almost too much for Sasuke to comprehend. He put the album down, composing himself. Even when he lived with Danzo, his heart had never hurt so much. He had been put through a life without a family, a true place to call home. But Itachi had his family ripped away from him. Someone took his sibling and his mother and uncle both killed themselves only for him to find the bodies. It was too disgusting to think about. After a few moments Sasuke reached back down into the box. He wanted to know more, as horrible and morbid as it seemed. He wanted to know everything he could.

Sasuke found a different album and took a deep breath, hoping that this would be the last of it so that he could just be done with searching. When he found what he wanted, he would just leave and never mention anything again unless Itachi wanted to tell him. He made that promise to himself and opened the book.

"**Tragedy Strikes the Uchiha Compound: Newborn Gone Missing" **

"_October 12, 19XX. Uchiha Fugaku, age 38, and his wife Uchiha Mikoto, age 36 woke to find that their son Uchiha Itachi, age five was out of his room and in the room of his newborn brother. They found their son double over, obviously injured. Someone had snuck into the house, attacked the child, and then taken the newborn from his crib. Newborn Uchiha Sasuke had only been living with his parents for a few months before he had been taken from his home. The Uchiha family publicly came out very soon after the kidnapping, begging for information and pleading with the kidnapper to return their son. They say they will pay ANY amount of money to see their son safely returned to them. Police are conducting an investigation and have so far not found a single clue. It appears the scene was breeched without forced entry…" _

Daisuke(1) dropped the book from his hand, letting it slide from his fingers. He tried to ignore it. He tried so hard. But he couldn't. He just _couldn't _let that name exit his mind. Itachi…He had given Daisuke THAT name. When Danzo had told Itachi he could be anything for him, Itachi hadn't just picked him to be just a sex toy. No, no. He had picked him so he could be a replacement _younger brother._ And yet Itachi still had SEX with him. Even though it was his brother's name he cried when he climaxed…

"Oh God…" Daisuke muttered suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. Itachi's fantasies included fucking his younger brother. It explained so much. It explained **EVERYTHING**. Why Itachi **WAS SO** **NICE**. Why he was so inclusive. **HOW** he treated him better than Daisuke than he shouldhave. Itachi gave him everything he **COULD** have. He wasn't a love pet, **HE** was a fucking little brother. And he would **DO** stuff with Itachi without question. **THE THINGS HE DID**…They weren't something you'd do to your brother. (2)

"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you here?" Itachi voice was calling to him. And Daisuke didn't want to answer. He heard the footfalls on the stairs but didn't turn to look at his master. He couldn't. He just couldn't look Itachi in the eyes now. He had…A LOT of explaining to do. "Sasuke, didn't you he-" Itachi's words died on his tongue when he realized what Daisuke had gotten into. "What are you doing down here?" His tone was neutral and cold.

"When were you going to tell me?" Itachi remained silent as he stared at the shaking figure before him. "When Itachi? Were you just planning on hiding it from me forever? Did you think I'd never find out?"

"Why were you going through my personal items Sas-"

"DON'T FUCKING CALL ME BY _HIS_ NAME!" Daisuke shrieked. "I'M NOT YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!"

"I know that. What's gotten into you?" Itachi knew why he was angry but he was trying to talk Daisuke down before he did something crazy. He was still a little pissed about his lover going through his things like that but he needed the boy to calm down a little before pressing any farther. He tried to touch Daisuke's shoulder but the boy instantly jerked away from the touch. Itachi felt annoyance bubbling up in his body but decided to try and ignore it. For both of their benefits. "Come upstairs, we can ta-"

"NO." Daisuke's body was shaking violently with the sobs coming up. "I thought you were perfect Itachi. I thought you were _different _than them…But you're the same. You're the exact same. But instead of replacing a lover, you're replacing a brother."

"Wasn't it Danzo who said you'd be anyone I wanted?" His patience was slipping with the boy. Itachi didn't appreciate being yelled at by someone who didn't know what they were talking about. "You'd be a fool to believe that anyone who stepped into that place was completely and utterly pure-hearted."

Daisuke started clapping. "You're right. You're so right. You pulled the wool over my eyes and I was completely blind to the truth. Bravo Itachi. You even got me to tell you that I loved you…And made me worry about what you thought of me."

"Sasuke, stop acting like this. I never intended on tricking you. I told you, I never want to see you hurting again. I love you."

"Do you really love me Itachi? Or do you love the fantasy you've created with me?"

Before Itachi could reply his phone started going off. He ignored the call and was about to speak when it started ringing again. He pulled it out of his pocket. "Madara, whatever it is, it can wait. I'm in the middle of something." He paused for a moment, his free hand clenching at his side. "I see…I'll come right back then." Itachi angrily shoved his phone in his pocket and turned back towards the stairs, his brain running a mile and minute. "Stay in this house Sasuke. If I come back to find you gone, I will be VERY angry with you. I'm not finished with this conversation, you hear me? This is an order from your master."

Daisuke couldn't look his master in the face and he didn't watch as Itachi stomped up the stairs and slammed the front door behind him. As soon as he knew Itachi was gone, Daisuke fell to his knees, finally releasing the sobs and tears that had built in his body. He had been a fool. How could he not see something coming? When you lived the life of a slave there was never any real freedom only small specks of hope blurring better judgment. He wouldn't let Itachi trick him again.

**1.A significant change in Sasuke's mindset. He doesn't even want to refer to himself as Sasuke. If you couldn't tell; he's majorly freaked out.  
>2. Read all the bolded words of that paragraph by themselves. Genius Hitoko-Sama strikes again. <strong>

**Itachi: Okay, where is she?  
>Sasuke: *points to a shitty blanket fort* I'd assume there.<br>Itachi: *rips blankets down*  
>Me: Fuck a duck…<br>Itachi: Oh Hitoko-Sama…I think we have a few matters to discuss.  
>Me: Be gentle?<br>Sasuke: …Not a chance. Until next time…This was Hitoko-Sama.**

**And just a small note, it will only get better from here. I promise. This isn't going to be a super huge deal breaker thing. That would kill my little heart. D: Also, please don't kill me and hate me!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**"This is entertainment,**_  
><em><strong>Lies are entertainment.<br>You are down on your knees  
>Begging me for more."<strong>_  
><em><strong>Innerpartysystem "Don't Stop"<strong>_

Itachi stormed into Madara's office, knocking over a secretary and an intern in the process of getting through. They were both in his way and bitching at him about something or other; he didn't have time for them to be screeching at him. He needed to finish this business with Madara so he could go back to Sasuke. He was not finished with what he had to say. The boy was obviously getting more and more confused about his feelings and Sasuke snooping around didn't help. Snooping only ended up hurting the person you were checking up on and yourself. However, Itachi knew, Sasuke had every right to confront him and snoop. Itachi led a very mysterious life to Sasuke at least; of course the boy was curious about what he was all about. Besides, a good amount of what Sasuke knew now was public knowledge. It was just ignorance to think Sasuke would never find out about his past. It wasn't like the truth could stay hidden forever. Itachi frowned, noting that his choices lately were not the best. He wondered what had gotten into himself; making decisions like this weren't him at all. He could only blame this on all the time he had been spending with Madara. His uncle was definitely influencing and indulging him more than he should. Itachi found that was a little strange for Madara as well; usually Madara wasn't a complete free spirit when it came to Itachi and his whims. But with this, Madara just seemed to be going with it and letting Itachi make all the decisions. There must have been something Madara was hiding from him. Or he was trying to teach Itachi something. These were the only things Itachi could think he was doing. Madara had taught him a few cruel lessons when he went to live with his uncle using that method.

He opened the door, seeing his uncle by his computer, an equally displeased look on the older Uchiha's face. "Oh great, who pissed in your porridge this morning?" Madara snapped at his nephew's angry demeanor.

"That was you." Itachi snapped right back. "You, are the source of my problems at the moment."

Madara slammed his hands down on his desk and stood up, getting right in Itachi's face, staring him down. Madara wasn't much taller than Itachi but it did make him seem a little more intimidating. The younger Uchiha noted that there were darker rings than normal around his eyes, making him look even darker and evil than normal. But Itachi knew this was just an intimidation tactic, Madara wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Well, maybe Madara would slap him, but other than that Madara wouldn't do anything. "What did I do now Itachi? What could I, your loving uncle, do this time that made you such a little fuck?"

Itachi didn't exactly know how to phrase his argument about Madara interrupting. Anyway he phrased it; it would sound like Sasuke's fault. He shoved his uncle's chest and the man huffed, knowing he had won that battle. "Just tell me what was so urgent that I had to come rushing back so I can go home."

Madara turned and sat back down in his chair. "No Itachi, tell me what your problem with me is. I really would like to know." Oh Itachi should have known Madara wouldn't have dropped it right there. But his uncle's attitude was annoying him to no bounds. He just wanted to get out of here and return to Sasuke so he could speak with his lover and set things straight. Itachi rolled his eyes and placed his hands firmly on his Uncle's shoulders.

"Listen Madara, I didn't come here to fight with you. Either tell me what you have to tell me or I'm leaving." Itachi crossed his arms and Madara shook his head why he sighed exasperatedly.

"Orochimaru sent over the signed merger papers today. I need to be able to access your office information while you're not here so I can complete the data transfer fully before the merger. Also, Minato is coming in later to speak with you about the company overhaul. I haven't mentioned anything to him about Orochimaru to him. I don't think we have to."

Itachi grabbed the space between his brows. "Yeah okay, I'll log into my computer and leave it on for you. When exactly is Minato coming?"

Madara glanced up at the clock on the wall and then looked out to where his office staff was. "He's already here. He's a flash, you know. Gets to important meetings in the blink of an eye." Itachi glanced out to see that distinctive blond hair and chipper smile.

"Alright, I won't mention anything about Orochimaru. Hopefully the office staff already hasn't." Itachi muttered as he walked out of Madara's office, putting on his best neutral face. When his nephew exited the room, Madara sighed and grabbed the phone in his pocket which had been vibrating throughout his entire talk with Itachi. He made a mistake last night. One he would pay for later. He sighed again and leaned back in his chair. When Minato found out, the man was probably going to kill him.

Itachi walked up to Minato and was going to put out his hand to shake but the blond just smiled and pulled Itachi in for a hug. "Itachi, my boy, how are you?"

The Uchiha face brightened instantly. There was something about Minato that really lifted the spirits of those around him. He was such a happy, genuine man. Someone Itachi very much enjoyed doing business with. "I'm well and yourself? You're looking very happy today Minato, you must be glad Kyuubi is back."

"Always a joy when the whole family is back together, you know that. I just wish the boy wouldn't leave home so often. I'm happy with just Naruto there, but you know, sometimes it's nice to bond with both of them." Minato was smiling still and it just brought such warmth to his heart. It reminded him of all the time he had spent in the Uzumaki-Namikaze house. It made him feel like he was home. "Kushina says you need stop by sometimes. You know how she fusses about you and getting proper, home cooked meals. She doesn't want to admit it's because she misses you."

Itachi smiled at that. Kushina was a lively, sweet woman, but she had a temper than killed. The Uchiha had spent many a night watching both Naruto and Kyuubi on the wrong side of that anger. It was a terrifying experience at first but then he realized how much Kushina cared about her boys and found the sight heart-warming, even though, it made him miss his own mother so much. Itachi knew that this was not the time to be thinking of such dark things and patted Minato on the shoulder, still smiling. "Tell her I'll stop by when I have time. I'll bring Sasuke along so she can meet him."

Minato smiled. "Perhaps then the tabloids will really have something to talk about…" Itachi couldn't help but nod. They were having a field day with Sasuke and Naruto's kiss. So many articles had come out about them. Sasuke was hotter news than Madara at the moment, which was really saying a great deal because there was mention of Madara in almost every single newspaper and news program, including commercials.

"Well, shall we get to business Minato? I assume you have a tight schedule to keep."  
>-<p>

Sasuke(1) was laying on his bed, feeling completely defeated. Sharingan jumped up on the fake Uchiha's bed, mewing and purring, cuddling up to Sasuke's hand before lying down next to him, seeming to almost know and understand the mood Sasuke was in. His eyes were red and burning from all the sobbing he had been doing. As much as he hated Itachi right now, he hadn't wanted him to leave. There was a small part of him that wanted to work this out with his master. It was sick and twisted, he knew. But what other option did he really have? Itachi had been sweet to him. He had been caring. He opened his own house to Sasuke like he was an important part of the family. But at the same time, he felt bitter and disgusted about that.

How could Itachi do this to him? How could he turn such an innocent and beautiful thing into something so dark and heinous? Sasuke felt the tears burning the back of his eyes but shook his head. He was done crying over it. It didn't solve anything. It only hurt him more because he knew he couldn't stop if started again. And that would just make him look more pathetic. Sasuke sighed and got out of his bed, Sharingan following him to the open door of the bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and shuffled around for eye drops, which he found. He dropped them into his eyes and they started to look far better. At least he wouldn't give Itachi the satisfaction of knowing just how much this upset him. And, he just didn't want Itachi to know. He felt like it would hurt his master. So why not just cover it up a little?

He went to the kitchen next and pulled a frozen spoon out. He knew this would help with the redness and swelling under his eyes so he put the spoon in there around the time Itachi left, which was almost an hour ago. Sharingan mewed some more, rubbing between Sasuke's legs and the fake Uchiha sat on the floor with the cat, petting him absentmindedly as he applied the cold spoon to his other eye.

"At least you're always here for me Sharingan." The cat purred and cuddled up in Sasuke's lap. He pet the cat for a small bit longer when he heard knocking at the door. The fake Uchiha raised an eyebrow, moving the sleeping creature in his lap before heading to the living room to open the door. This wasn't Itachi, or Madara. They both would have waltzed right in. And it couldn't have been Naruto. He hadn't invited the blond over, even though after Itachi left and he found his discarded phone, he also found a mountain of fumbled, strange text messages from the blond.

He opened the door to find it pushed from his hands by none other than Naruto. Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together. The blond hadn't even given him a warning. The blond instantly wrapped his arms around Sasuke's body and snuggled his head into the raven's chest, sighing and sniffling a little as he did so. "Why didn't you answer your phone?" Naruto questioned his voice barely above a whisper.

There was something wrong here. Sasuke knew it from the neediness and the clinginess of the touch and when Naruto didn't just berate him and go off on some stupid tangent about him not answering his phone, it hammered the final nail in the coffin. Something had happened. Sasuke instantly wrapped his arms around the blond, putting his lips to the blond's head. Just like that, they held each other in silence. And to Sasuke, it felt like just what he needed, just what he wanted. No doubt Naruto would calm down and tell him what happened, so in the meantime, he was just going to enjoy the silence and comfort.

Naruto's hands rubbed softly on Sasuke's back, drawing small circles in the base of his spine as he snuggled closer to the raven. It felt so nice to Sasuke. Even though he wished it was Itachi holding him, just the human contact itself was so nice. There was no demand in Naruto's touch, any misplaced lust or emotion was absent. It was something pure coming from a distraught place. Sasuke couldn't help it. He leaned Naruto's face up and he took the blond's lips in his own. Just one more time, just one more kiss. Perhaps this would be what Naruto would need to calm him enough to snap into a better state of mind. But to Sasuke's surprised, Naruto turned his head away so that he could reject Sasuke's kiss. The raven blinked and unwrapped his arms so he could grip onto Naruto's shoulder, needing for the blond to look him in the eye.

Sasuke knew that this was exactly what he needed. A distraction. Naruto was the perfect distraction for him. And he would listen to Naruto tell him everything. From start to finish. Even if the blond repeated parts and told the most long winded story he had ever experienced. Anything to take his mind off of Itachi. Anything would be perfect. It was like the good Lord sent Naruto to Sasuke as a reward. Someone who he genuinely get lost in and love every second of it.

"Naruto, tell me what happened. I've never seen you so upset…" Sasuke muttered. "It worries me when you're this quiet."

Naruto wasn't looking Sasuke in the eye. The raven had to physically grab the blond's chin so that Naruto would finally look at him head on. And that's when Sasuke saw the tears. They were building and bursting in those deep blues and it ripped Sasuke's heart to pieces. Naruto was such a ball of sun and to see him cry…It was like going against the laws of nature.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I'm so sorry…" Naruto said shaking his head and grumbling under his breath.

"Tell me Naruto. What happened?" Sasuke replied, brushing the hair from the blond's face. "What is it?"

"I…" Naruto paused to let out a pathetic laugh. "I fucked Madara last night and now Kyuubi won't speak to me. And Kyuubi won't believe me that I was too drunk to realize I wasn't fucking you."

Sasuke's eyes widened and his brain just shut down. He didn't know how to handle the information he was just given. It was like his brain had turned to soup in his skull. He had a feeling Madara had been trying to get into Naruto's pants but he didn't think the man would stoop so low as to seduce Naruto while he was drunk. It was…Disgusting. A rage bubbled up in Sasuke chest like he had never experienced before. Naruto was the first person besides Itachi who accepted him at face-value. He was Sasuke's best friend and their bond was more than apparent. His stomach felt sour as he pulled Naruto into his arms again, rubbing soothing circles into the blond's back.

"And you wanna know what's the worst thing? Deep down, I fucking liked it. I liked it so much. It felt good. I haven't had quality sex like that in a long time so I just bathed in the feeling. And I just feel so fucking dirty now. I went behind Kyuubi's back and fucked the man he still harbors feelings for." Naruto was sobbing now, wetting the shoulder of Sasuke's shirt. But the raven didn't care. He would hold Naruto as long as it took to quell the sadness inside of him.

Sasuke wanted to call Madara. Completely bitch the man out on the phone but at the same time, he didn't want to rock the boat more than he already had. Madara was off last night, in a very vulnerable position. But he was clear headed enough not to jump on Kyuubi and rekindle something that would hurt the red head more when Madara said it was nothing more than a mistake. Sasuke huffed a little and pulled the blond onto the couch, taking the blond's hand into his own.

"I know this is going to sound super bad and creepy but your dad has a great dick." Naruto said, almost to liven up the mood.

And Sasuke's face contorted with slight horror and disgust, making Naruto laugh as he dried his tears. "UH! I don't wanna know about that!"

Naruto seemed to brush off the comment and shake his head, hanging it afterwards in shame. "God, why did I have to walk into the bathroom?"

"You fucked in the bathroom? Please don't tell me I'm going to have to bleach your cum stains off the shower curtain."

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, slapping the Uchiha in the arm. "THAT'S FUCKING SO GROSS!"

"Good, now we're both disturbed." Sasuke replied, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. "At least there's some kind of silver lining to this."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"He didn't fuck Kyuubi. I don't know much about what happened between them, but I feel like Kyuubi would be reacting worse than he currently is. I mean he'll eventually forgive you and give up on the silent treatment. You're too annoying to stay silent for long."

"Oh ha, kick me while I'm down." Naruto muttered. "But I guess you're right. If he had slept with Kyuubi, his puppy love would have just gotten him kicked." The blond shook his head and then laughed a little. "Madara actually had the balls to text me saying that everything between us didn't mean anything. Like I cared or didn't even know. To be honest, I'm surprised you're not mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you? I am mad at Madara because he can't keep it in his pants but other than that I'm not mad. It's not like you were purposefully trying to sleep with my dad. In a drunken stupor, I really doubt that Madara and I can be well distinguished. We look alike. "

"Well, I don't know. Last night you seemed okay with the idea of us. Even though I know you were kinda avoiding me just because things we getting awkward."

"Yeah, well, can you blame me? You wouldn't even look at me. I thought you didn't want anything to do with me. So I just gave you your space." Naruto placed his hand on top of Sasuke's and squeezed it a little. The warmth of the touch made Sasuke shiver.

"Can I have that kiss now?"

"I don't know Naruto…" Sasuke said, pulling back from the blond. "There's been a lot on my mind recently. I don't know if I've been indulging myself with you or just going along for the ride. I can't deny that I feel something between us. But I don't know if it would be better just to be friends in the long run. I don't want to hurt you if something goes south." Sasuke scoffed mentally at his own words. Hurting Naruto was the last thing he wanted to do. Technically this friendship and any relationship born of it wasn't real. Naruto had fallen for an Uchiha Sasuke who didn't exist. Someone who was fathered by Madara and came from a broken home. Not the real Daisuke who had been thrown around in a sea of mistrust, angst and hatred. Someone who had been born only to be later sold into a life of sex and lies. The only person he wanted actually knew the truth and accepted all that baggage with it.

"I'm a big boy Sasuke. I can handle a little pain." Naruto leaned in and Sasuke's heart actually started to race a little.

"You kiss Madara's dick with that mouth?" The blond instantly pulled back at that comment, burst out with laughter.

"Oh shut up!" Naruto leaned back against the couch. He was smiling and Sasuke couldn't help but pat himself on the back for making the blond happy. It only took a few minutes and Naruto seemed to be in a far better mood than when stalked in. Maybe, Sasuke thought, he wasn't such a bad guy after all. "Sasuke, do you got any food? I'm starving."

"Everything always come back to food for you, doesn't it?"

"Nehhhh, feed me Sasuke. I'm your pet now."

"I thought you were a big boy Naruto."

"No, I'm a cat now."

"Hn."

Naruto flopped onto Sasuke lap, pretending to die. The Uchiha's eyebrows twitched and he stood up, slipping the blond out of his lap. "Well if you're a cat there's cat food in the kitchen. However, I'm pretty sure Sharingan won't appreciate you eating his food."

"Okay fine, I'm a cat boy. Feed me human food."

"Hn."

"Please?"

Sasuke sighed exasperatedly. "The things I do for Dobes. Come on."

Naruto fist pumped before leaping off the couch, a stupid smile on his face. "You're the best Teme, believe it!"

Sasuke shook his head but still smiled as Naruto followed him into the kitchen.  
>-<p>

Madara sat at Itachi's desk, looking through the files on the computer and copying them all onto his extra drive. Soon they would be ruining Orochimaru's business. He had already sent a team over to salvage Orochimaru's useful technology and equipment. It was the perfect crime really. Since Orochimaru didn't really seem to read the fine print of the contract, he failed to notice that he was only getting a merger with this company, not the newer side business Madara had created, which had been the one Minato signed to join into. Of course his side business was smaller and not nearly as well known, so it was easier to overlook. Orochimaru was a fool and a hack business man, Madara quite enjoyed bringing the man to his knees. He didn't get to the top with sweetness but with backhanded, sidewinding tendencies. That's what it took to be the best.

He pulled the drive out of Itachi's computer and powered it down. Now that this was done, he could upload the virus which would delete the software programming and render his systems completely useless. He had already signed over his useful employees to the new company and allowed the others to stay here with Orochimaru, to panic alongside him. It was deliciously malicious, Madara knew, but he didn't care. When a snake in the grass decides to go creeping in Madara's backyard, why not snuff it out with a lawnmower?

The Uchiha stood up to see Minato exiting out of the small lounge where Itachi took his clients when he knew them on a more personal basis. Their meeting had finished more than an hour ago and whatever rush Itachi seemed to be in, was over. He shook his head. The brat must have gotten into a fight with his pet. Leave it to Itachi to get emotionally attached to a sex object and then have a lover's quarrel with him. Madara couldn't help but wonder where his level headed nephew had gone; it was like Itachi had checked out of his own mind, not caring how his heart was ruining his life.

Madara rolled his eyes knowing he wasn't exactly in the position to judge Itachi right now. He slept with Kyuubi's little brother last night. A horrid mistake on his part. In fact, if Itachi hadn't have shown up, he probably would have tried his hand and slept with Sasuke too. Madara smirked when he thought about a threesome with that fiery blond and that brooding little raven. Then Madara rethought his own mental image. Naruto still believed Sasuke and Madara to be related which would only mess up any chemistry by Naruto getting confused and probably grossed out. And it wasn't like they could tell Naruto the DNA test was faked. Madara shrugged.

The cell phone the Uchiha left on the table started to buzz again and Madara sighed. It was that damn brat Kyuubi, again. He wasn't going to let him live down the fact that he had slept with the younger Uzumaki. In fact, Kyuubi's bratty-qualities probably wouldn't allow Naruto to live this down either. Poor kid, neither of them was in the right mind for sex. Madara actually let himself get vulnerable enough to even entertain the idea of allowing Naruto to think he was Sasuke. Though he did find it complimentary since Sasuke was significantly younger than him. And Naruto was obviously in a strange point of his life, the poor thing seemed to really have strong feelings for something he couldn't have.

Madara ignored the call on his phone and leaned back. He wondered if Sasuke would be mad with him or Naruto. Their bond was a hard one to read. At some points it just seemed like friendship but others it seemed like they would be a brilliant couple. Their personalities were complimentary. But then again Sasuke seemed to only have eyes for Itachi, which was all good and fine with him. Though he wished Sasuke would get returned or something. The brat was far more trouble than he was worth.

Madara sighed again, noting he had been doing that a lot recently. Being surrounded by idiots did that to people though. His phone started ringing again and against his better judgment, he answered it. Ready to tell Kyuubi off completely, not caring about the boy's feelings at all at this point. "Listen here you little shit, I'm getting really sick of this. Stop calling, it's not going to change anything."

"_Hn, I hope that wasn't your son you were trying to tell off."_ Madara mentally cursed. Regretting picking up his phone at all. This was a person far worse than Kyuubi; it was his big brother, Fugaku, Itachi's father. It was rare for him to call and it had probably been since Izuna's death that he had even seen Fugaku in person.

"Nope. Just more people trying to get a piece of paradise. Who do I thank for receiving such a friendly call?"

"_Why did you name him Sasuke, Madara?" _

Madara started to laugh a little. "I had no choice over the name. I didn't even know about him for twenty years. Remember, long lost son."

"_Yeah, I don't believe you. I want to meet him." _Fugaku's voice was cold and Madara could hear the resentment in his tone. He had 'stolen' Itachi from his brother after the boy's mother decided to kill herself even though Itachi was completely willing to live with both of his uncles instead of his father. That wasn't his fault. But Fugaku blamed him like he had done it all, even handed Mikoto the gun to do the deed. He rolled his eyes.

"And why would you want to meet my baby boy?"

"_Call it a police officer's intuition, but I feel like your results were botched. That boy…He looks like Mikoto." _Madara's hand tensed on his phone knowing that Fugaku was plodding in dangerous territory. If Fugaku saw Sasuke and managed to get DNA off the kid, the ruse would be up. Everyone would know that Sasuke wasn't his son.

"Fugaku, listen to yourself. You sound crazy. There's no way he is your son. He is my son, just live with it. I had my top people run that test. And they haven't screwed it up yet."

"_Madara, I know there have been many people claiming to be your child but this could be different. That boy looks like Uchiha blood." _

"Yes, my blood. He is my son." Madara was starting to get annoyed with his brother. Even though Fugaku was retired he could still raise a good bit of hell with this. If he managed to get a single shred of DNA, even if it was just a hair with a tag on it, that was it. The whole jig was up. "Look brother, I had that test run three times because I didn't even believe it. After all this time I finally had a son who was the real thing, can't you just let me have this one thing?"

"_He's the same age as Sasuke, my son, should be! I even did my research, they have the same birthday! And he looks like her! How can you think there isn't a possibility they messed up?!" _Madara knew Fugaku was getting desperate and when he got desperate there was no way to stop him. Itachi might even get an unwanted visitor tonight. If Fugaku could piece this much on his own with the limited information about Sasuke they had been circling, who knows what else he could have dug up on his own? Madara closed his eyes, regained a bit of composure, and let out a calming breath.

"What is this really about Fugaku? Is it because for the first time I actually have an heir to my empire? That's it isn't it? You're not happy Itachi didn't pick up your business and decided to go with mine and you're doing this all to hurt me and my feelings. I did the tests, I know the results. So what if they're the same age? So what if they have the same birthday? We both know your precious baby son is dead. All of this is coincident at best. Plenty of children were born around the same time and you aren't going around to DNA test them."

Fugaku was silent on the other line and Madara took that as a good time to hang up the phone, placing it on the desk next to him. He didn't have enough energy to deal with this. Of course this was the same time Fugaku went crazy. The anniversary of Mikoto's death was in a couple days and Fugaku's drinking always increased around this time. It was why he 'retired' from the police force. Madara was shaking his head as Itachi entered his office and still saw his uncle sitting in his chair.

"I heard you yelling from the hallway, who was that?" Itachi asked, crossing his arms.

"Your father." Madara said, getting up, grabbing his phone. Itachi flinched a little thinking of his father. He hadn't had a pleasant conversation with that man since he was a child. He turned in a cold, more vicious monster ever since his mother died. And it was only worsened by Itachi leaving to live with Madara, a decision he never regretted. "He's a wiser man than I remembered. He doubts Sasuke's paternity. Thinks Sasuke is his son not mine. Oh if only he knew that he wasn't either of ours." Madara patted Itachi on the shoulder. "If you want, you can go home now. I have some remaining business to finish but that's all. Everything will be solved by morning. I promise you that much."

"Call me if you need anything." Itachi left the office with a neutral face but his head was a storm. Why would his father think that Sasuke was his son? Admittedly there were a share of familiarities to his little brother and his pet but it was impossible for it to be the real thing. If anything it was just a bunch of coincidences. Itachi thought that it would just be weird that after twenty years his baby brother would finally surface. And not to mention completely unlikely. Besides, if that were true that meant he was sleeping with his own little brother. Itachi scoffed at that. Definitely impossible.

But even though he tried to convince himself that it was impossible the more he thought about it. The more he believed there may be a chance…  
>-<p>

Itachi walked into the house and expected it to be silent with Sasuke brooding upstairs but instead he found the walls echoing with laughter. And not just Sasuke's but Naruto's. Itachi couldn't help but think the worse. That Sasuke decided to be vengeful and decided to sleep with Naruto get back at him for what he now knew. He hoped that wasn't the case. He wanted to work things out with Sasuke, help him process the information he now held. He didn't know how he would feel if Sasuke flew off the handle like that. Itachi felt as though it might crush him but he wouldn't let Sasuke know that much.

He stepped into the kitchen to see the two of them standing around the kitchen island, eating fried rice that still seemed fresh. Naruto was currently trying not to choke on the food in his mouth as Sasuke smirked around his glass. The blond smiled and turned around. "Welcome home. Sorry about coming here unannounced, I was hungry."

"Oh yeah, that's the real reason you showed up." Sasuke muttered. Itachi raised an eyebrow and Naruto shot Sasuke a look and he just rolled his eyes.

"Glad to see you two have overcome your awkwardness." Itachi said as he laid his briefcase on the island and loosened up his tie.

"There's some left in the pan if you want it." Sasuke said, not even looking at his master. "If you don't hurry Naruto's big mouth will eat it all."

"Oh ha, good one Sasuke. Always talking about how I'm too loud. Get some better material." Naruto said, waving his fork at the fake Uchiha. He was smirking at the blond.

"I would use the new material but I fear you'd actually stab me with that fork if I did."

"What? Did you two hook up or something?" Itachi asked, grabbing water from the refrigerator before loading up a plate. Sasuke gave Naruto an all too knowing glance and the blond's face heated up. Itachi knew from just that look that Naruto and Sasuke didn't have sex; that there was a different secret lying around between them.

"We didn't hook up but a certain Uzumaki sure got some Uchiha action." Itachi spit water out of his mouth when those words sank in.

"SASUKE!" Naruto's voice was high in pitch, disbelieve and anger bleeding together.

"Naruto, you didn't…" Itachi knew his voice was slightly pleading.

"I can't believe it Sasuke! What part of this isn't something I want people knowing didn't you get?!" Naruto whined.

"Naruto, Itachi is Kyuubi's best friend. He was going to find out." Sasuke said. "If anything this has soften the impact."

"So Kyuubi knows too? He's pissed, isn't he?" Itachi asked shaking his head. "Naruto please tell me you didn't go all the way with Madara…"

"Sorry to disappoint. I was really drunk." Naruto said with a shrug. "I didn't mean to, I thought it was Sasuke. And Kyuubi caught us like right as we finished and telling each other pretty much not to tell him. It got fucked up really fast."

"That usually happens when you fuck Madara." Itachi was pleased, at the very least, Naruto wasn't taking it too bad. Madara probably needed some nightly comfort and Kyuubi wasn't the best option for it. His uncle had been considerate of that; even if it couldn't be considered much of a victory. "Where's Kyuubi now?"

"Don't know. He isn't speaking to me. He rushed out this morning before you woke up. It was so awkward because I got pretty sober just sitting there alone with Madara. And it's not like I could be like, 'hey Madara, thanks for the great sex and ruining my relationship with my brother. It was awesome.'"

"He probably would have said 'you're welcome' cause he's a dick." Sasuke quipped.

Itachi could only shake his head and pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to Kyuubi before sliding it back into his pocket. Though he was glad Kyuubi wasn't the one who had a one-night stand with his uncle, this was going to hurt Kyuubi like nothing Madara had done before. "Perhaps that's why uncle was being such an asshole this morning…"

Sasuke and Naruto both laughed a little and continued eating the food Sasuke had prepared for them. Itachi pushed his plate to Naruto, suddenly losing his appetite after hearing that news. Also, the thought of Naruto and Madara together made him feel sick. It wasn't the best sight in his mind and he also felt bad for his best friend. Kyuubi was still in love with that bastard, no matter how much he tried to get Madara out of his system. His phone started to ring and he took it into the next room so he could try to calm Kyuubi down in private.

"See? I told you Itachi wasn't going to freak out." Sasuke said with a jab of his fork.

"Yeah, yeah. I still can't believe you caved and told him so early. I'm so mad at you but also not really." Naruto said with a smile.

"How else could I make 'you totally boned Madara' jokes without him knowing? Duh, I did this for the laughs."

"I hate you, why am I attracted to you? You're such an ass."

"Like father like son." Sasuke said with a shrug. "Looks like you're attracted to Uchiha dicks."

"Stop, oh my God."  
>-<p>

Orochimaru logging into his computer, knowing full well that the merger had gone through. He opened his email and saw an email with attachments from Madara. This was the moment was waiting for. All of the information to his genius when it came to software and how to manufacture it for cheap. He started to chuckle when he opened the attachment, noting right away that something weird was happening. The email itself closed and then deleted itself before making the screen light up bright blue, saying that multiple system errors had occurred. Orochimaru's eyes widened.

This couldn't be possible. They couldn't do that. He had Madara by the short hairs, he wasn't allowed to go out and crash everything he had worked so hard to attain. The computer went completely dark, shutting off before rebooting itself. He noticed it opened to his desktop where all of his files and information about the Uchiha Corporation was held, it all began to go through the documents, deleting it all permanently.

"No, no." He couldn't shut off his computer. He couldn't even get the mouse on the screen to move. All of this was obviously Madara's doing. Leave it to him to create a super computer virus that could render even the best anti-virus software completely useless. But Orochimaru had to ask himself a very good question. Why did he decide to strike now of all times? Madara could have easily sent him the virus and ruined him way before this point. He didn't have to wait. Perhaps there was a large part to this that he didn't know. Maybe Madara wasn't finished with him yet.

Orochimaru bolted from his chair, grabbing his assistant Kabuto by the arm as he tried to enter the office. "My computer's fried. I need to see the mainframe. I think Madara's making a move against me by poisoning my network."

"Orochimaru, Madara's men came in today and salvaged any good equipment he could for the merger. His completely dismantled and took parts from our mainframe, very expensive parts. We can't possibly afford to rebuild at this point. We don't have anything left."

The snake like man dropped Kabuto's arm and just stared at the boy. Perhaps this was all in his head and Madara had a plan for this. Perhaps this was all just a horrid dream gone wrong. Madara wouldn't be so bold as to completely ruin him and his company all in one blow, would he? He knew Madara to be a brash, irrational man but since his company was now tied into Madara's, this massive overhaul would affect both of them.

Orochimaru gasped when he realized something. Madara wasn't losing anything by this deal, we was gaining everything. The damn Uchiha tricked him. Orochimaru's own company was completely ruined and Madara, probably within the next few hours, would be announcing an overhaul of Madara's own, old company into a new one with Minato as his merging partner. They gutted everything they could to make sure the repairs, if Orochimaru could even make them, would be ridiculously expensive. And more than likely Madara would be bankrupting his other company, meaning if Orochimaru wanted to save it, he would have to go bust.

"Well play Madara, well played. And there isn't any proof of how you did it." Orochimaru muttered, licking his lips. "He's beaten us at our own game, Kabuto."

"But what about the evidence? We can still use it against him! We haven't lost yet." Kabuto said, gripping Orochimaru's shirt.

"No, no, we lost when we got too greedy with Madara. I shouldn't have trusted him." The snake sat down in one of the abandoned computer chairs. He had signed over a good deal of his best people to Madara; he doubted they'd come back and work for free. "I just wanted a piece of heaven but got too close to the sun. People will know that. They will also know that anything I bring up against Madara now will be written off as fake and useless because Madara ruined me."

"What do we do now sir?"

Orochimaru swiveled the chair a little and turned to an abandoned magazine on the floor. There was trash everywhere from the massive removal of parts and people. He leaned down and picked it up. On the cover was a picture of Sasuke, stunning as usual, lip locking with who Orochimaru knew to be Minato's youngest son, Uzumaki Naruto. He held up the magazine and started laughing. Kabuto stilled all of his muscles tense from sheer evilness his boss was letting out. But he could understand the anger. The Uchihas ruined them; cost Kabuto his job and everything else. Whatever Orochimaru was going to do to them would be soft-handed.

"I know exactly what we're going to do." Orochimaru said with a horrific smirk. "We're going to hit Sasuke where it hurts. This is his fault, don't you agree?"

Kabuto glanced down at the photo and smirked. Oh, he saw where this was going. And it was bloody brilliant. Kabuto couldn't surpress the laughter bubbling up in his throat.  
>-<p>

"Kyuubi, you're acting like a brat. Just calm down. You know as well as I do that Madara did this to upset you. You can't let him get to you, he's just an asshole." Itachi said into his phone, gripping the skin between his eyes and shaking his head. He had been trying to talk Kyuubi down for the past hour and so far he had gone nowhere with it. The red head just kept getting down again. Itachi knew now how much he actually miscalculated the half-life of Kyuubi's love for Madara. There was too much still left and that incident ripped open new, fresh wounds for Kyuubi. Itachi just hoped Kyuubi would stay clean and wouldn't go on a bender like he did the last time Madara was horrid to him.

"_But why won't he even answer my calls? I just want to talk to him." _Itachi was getting deja-vu from this conversation. It reminded him of when he had to talk Kyuubi down when Madara first broke up with him. It was almost as big of a mess as this was. Itachi was on the verge of breaking down and throwing his phone. He knew Kyuubi wasn't in the right state of mind but even Itachi knew, even for heart break, he was being a little childish. He knew exactly why Madara wouldn't answer his calls. Or why he wouldn't answer them last year. It was all the same to the older Uchiha, he only cared about himself and, well, probably only Itachi too. But that was it. It was a cold place inside Madara's heart, and he would let no one forget that.

"Kyuubi, we both know all you would do is get really angry and get into a swearing contest with Madara and then it would end with you stopping by his house and having sex, which leaves you so much more hollow. Just like last time. Madara is just saving you the trouble, really." Itachi heard a knock at his door and thought maybe the man of the hour decided to show up at his home. The Uchiha was still listen to his red headed best friend when he peeped through the small eyehole of his door, thanking every lucky star he had that he checked. It wasn't Madara. It was his father, Fugaku. He hadn't seen Fugaku in person since uncle Izuna's funeral, where he was too enwrapped in taking care of his own emotional trauma, to even notice his father. "Kyuubi, can I call you back?"

"_Itachi? What's wrong? You sound completely different."_

"My father is here. He showed up unannounced."

"_Do you need me to come over? Cause I will. Even if Naruto is there, I'm here for you."_

"I don't know. I'll text you to come if things start going south." Itachi said as he hung up and opened the door as quickly as possible. He only cracked it a sliver so he could peer out, his face only. Fugaku didn't look too pleased when Itachi did that and tried to force his way in. "What are you doing here?"

"Hn, such a wondrous greeting for the man who raised you."

"Yes and such a great job you did at it." Itachi muttered. "What do you want? I was about to retire for the evening."

"Where is Madara's son?" Fugaku was asking a question but it came out sounding like a command. Like Fugaku was commanding Itachi to bring Sasuke forward and plant him right in his father's face. Itachi opened the door wider and crossed his arms, a stern look on his face.

"What's it to you where he is?"

"Itachi, look at me." Fugaku said, pushing the door open all the way so he could come inside. Itachi stumbled back to avoid being hit by the swinging door and frowned when his father stalked inside. "Don't you see it in him? Can't you tell he is Uchiha blood! Not Madara's blood, our blood!"

"Madara is our blood, father. He is your little brother." Itachi said snippily. He turned, shaking his head. His father had been obsessed with the notion of getting Sasuke back when he was a child and his brother first went missing. There were no leads except dead ones and the cash reward brought up no one with information. He went as far as to offer five million yen and no one bit. That's when they figured Sasuke was dead or in some other country. Of course then, there was no way to bring him back. And that consumed Fugaku. He couldn't live with it. And neither could Mikoto. Sasuke's disappearance was the reason she ended her life and shattered Itachi's in the process. It was only two years afterwards that Itachi went to live with Madara, unable to take his father's dribbling nonsense and heartache.

"Itachi you don't understand. You're blind to what's in front of you." Fugaku said, loudly. That wasn't he being too loud, as Itachi recalled from his childhood. He could get much worse than that. Eventually though, Itachi knew, Sasuke and Naruto would come wandering in to find out what exactly was happening. Fugaku was inadvertently trying to ruin everything they had been doing for the past month and Itachi could not and would not let his father take this away too.

"Father, stop. Listen to yourself. You're being crazy."

"That's exactly what your uncle said when I called him." Fugaku quipped back, grabbing Itachi by the arm and pulling him closer. "I'm not crazy, you just don't remember, do you? Tell me Itachi, do you remember what the face of your baby brother looks like?!"

Itachi pulled the vice grip on his arm and really started to think. No, he didn't remember exactly what Sasuke looked like. It was nearly twenty whole years ago since they had been separated. And even if he did remember he didn't know what Sasuke would look like as an adult. Knowing what someone would look like now compared to when they were a child was difficult to assess. A lot of factors played into how someone would turn out. Itachi got his arm free and then got defensive, wanting very much to call Kisame here to help remove his father. Of course, as convenience would have it, Kisame lived on the other side of the city, more than a half-hour away. Itachi pulled out his phone, quickly sending the 'rescue me' message to Kyuubi before Fugaku slapped the device from Itachi's hand.

It wasn't as though Itachi was a weak man. He had gotten into plenty of physical altercations. But this man was different that the rest, it was his father. Someone who raised and gave life to him. Even though the man was completely emotionally distant and relied and bullying Itachi to get what he wanted, it was still his father.

"You don't remember, do you?" Fugaku said suddenly, catching Itachi slightly off guard. "Your damn memory is the source of all our problems!" Itachi knew that was a stab for him not remembering what the face of the man who stole his brother looked like. He knew the mask fell off before the man could escape, but he couldn't make out the features. His brain had gone into defense mode, trying to protect him from as much mental scarring as possible. So yes, he didn't remember everything. That wasn't his fault.

"It was twenty years ago. I was a child. That was one of the most traumatic experiences of my entire life, how can I remember it perfectly?" Itachi was shaking with the rage bottled up in his form. His father always blamed him for everything that happened that day. It wasn't his fault Sasuke had been taken. It wasn't his fault at all. It made him sick to think that he let his baby brother be stolen by an unknown man. And he lived with that guilt every waking second of his enter life.

"Yo, Itachi, is something happening?" Itachi couldn't believe the timing Sasuke had. He waltzed from the kitchen into the living room, coming to stand next to the younger Uchiha when the unknown man seized him by the arm. "Hey, get the fuck off of me!" Sasuke was pulling and shaking his arm but Fugaku's grip was rock solid.

Itachi seethed with rage, pushing his father back. It caused the man to stumble and let Sasuke go. The pretend Uchiha hide behind Itachi, coddling his hurt arm. "Father, this is quite enough. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Itachi had never been this angry with Fugaku before and it showed in the younger Uchiha's face. Fugaku got up on his shaky feet and glared.

"You and I both know there's something more going on here Itachi. And I swear I will get that boy's DNA and I will prove him that he is NOT Madara's son!"

"Fugaku, you're making a scene." Madara was standing in the doorway, leaning casually against it. His eyes were screaming with anger. He grabbed his brother by the arm and threw him out the door, slamming it in his face. "I told you, you might have a nightly visitor. Why did you open the door to him?"

"He pushed it open." Itachi replied, snapping a little. He diverted his attention to Sasuke, who was looking shell-shocked. "Are you okay Sasuke?"

"Y-yeah. That's just freaked me out. He was so certain I wasn't Madara's son…How did he know?" The last part came out as a whisper and Madara shrugged.

"Doesn't matter now." Madara muttered walking up to Sasuke and patting him softly on the head. "But don't worry; good old Daddy Madara will protect you from the bad man." He smile Madara wore made Sasuke's blood feel cold as ice in his veins.  
>-<p>

_**1. I decided to change it back to Sasuke because it was gunna get confusing for me.**_

**Me: I knew I could do it!  
>Sasuke: What? Create more drama than there needed to be?<br>Me: No, crank out a long chapter in less than 3 days. Just like I used to!  
>Itachi: Good work. Now, go work on something else.<br>Me: -mumbles- slave driver…  
>Itachi: This was Hitoko-sama<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sorry about the long wait for this chapter guys! My life is super full of stuff that I'm doing. Like studying for the exams I have every single week. Yay…Anyway, Regular PV. ENJOY.****  
><strong>**-**

Sasuke was sitting on the couch with Itachi, who was looking at the smaller raven's arm. There were indents of finger prints bruised into the pale skin. Itachi's blood boiled. His father had no right to anything in his house, he had no right to come into his house and lay a single fingertip on anything Itachi owned; Sasuke included. The older Uchiha gently stroked the skin as Naruto, leaned over Sasuke the other way, seemingly comforting him by softly cupping his hand. Itachi wished he could do that. If Naruto wasn't here he could. He could fully comfort his property.

Madara's eyes may have been old but they flickered with an untold sparkle of life. He could see the anger eating away at Itachi, the jealousy Naruto created inside of him, not to mention the sheer possessive anger his father, Fugaku, bred into him. The fires of Itachi soul were burning brightly in his posture, in the hidden wells of his eyes, in the unspoken gentleness of his face.

Itachi was furious.

Madara smirked secretly to himself but then frowned when he heard the door open behind him. "I'M HERE! THERE'S NO NEED TO PANIC! WHERE IS HE?!" Everyone turned to see Kyuubi entering the room. The Uchiha and Uzumaki briefly locked eyes before Kyuubi bravely broke contact, standing near his brother who sat on the couch.

"Gone, left far before your heroics could save us." Itachi muttered. "But we did have a casualty…" He nodded towards the mark which seemed to be getting more and more pronounced as time passed. Kyuubi frowned.

"I just don't get it. Why would your father be so aggressive with Sasuke? I mean, he's Madara's son. Not his." Naruto muttered as he rubbed his thumb gently across the back of Sasuke's hand. Sasuke briefly smiled but looked over to Itachi for the comfort he desired. Later, he had to tell himself, later.

"I don't even think you were born yet." Kyuubi commented. "You wouldn't know why this is happening."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, looking slightly skeptically.

"I had a brother." Itachi spoke and Madara seemed almost shocked to hear Itachi talk about it. His nephew was very private about matters like this, especially since Itachi blamed himself for everything. "He was kidnapped and we never found him. Fugaku thinks that Sasuke is my brother, even though we've had all the appropriate tests done. And I understand why he's obsessed about it. His pride made him everything he was when I was growing up."

"And it wasn't just that…" Kyuubi muttered, giving a slightly sideways glance at Itachi. "We both know that."

"What else is there?" Naruto questioned looking towards his brother, who was staring at Itachi. The Uchiha's mouth seemed sealed though and Madara sighed.

"Itachi's mother killed herself because of it." Madara said with in a sullen, almost brooding kind of way. "Fugaku never forgave himself for it. He blamed himself for his family falling apart and became obsessed with finding his son but we never could. And that caused an even larger divide. Itachi ran from Fugaku as soon as he could, straight to me. He never forgave Izuna or me for that."

"All of us." Itachi corrected.

"Hn, right. Yes, all of us. He never forgave us. Which was fine by me, really. I was never particularly close to Fugaku, nor did I see the rhyme or reason for any of his madness. I wanted to shelter Itachi, of course."

"Still didn't stop him from leaving you too, Madara." Kyuubi quipped sharply and Madara's face soured, eyes pointedly glaring into the red head's form.

Madara forced a sarcastic smile on his as he looked at Kyuubi. "Yes, well, I'm pretty sure if you just watched your uncle commit suicide in front of you, you wouldn't want to live in that house either, huh?"

Itachi shook his head. "Can we just not talk about this anymore?"

Madara and Kyuubi traded glances before answering together. "Yeah."

The red head put his hand in Naruto's hair and tugged on the back of the blond's head lightly. "Come on, Mom's waiting for us. She wants to talk to you."

"Oh come on, you didn't tell her, did you?"

Kyuubi shook his head. "No, let's go. We need to talk too."

Naruto huffed and nodded. He kissed Sasuke gently on the cheek and soft color passed right through the pretend Uchiha's face. "I'll see ya later." Naruto got up and Kyuubi put his arm around his little brother's shoulders, ushering him out.

When the Uzumaki brothers had disappeared, Sasuke immediately stood up and started to head for the stairs. Itachi grabbed onto his wrist gently but the boy shook him off and left without saying a word. Itachi sighed and Madara came up behind his nephew, rubbing his shoulders.

"Young people, am I right? Such a pain."

"Madara, we need to do something about this, right away." Itachi turned towards his uncle and the man nodded. "Father will not give up this venture so easily."

"I'm aware." Madara muttered. "I'd suggest you call Kisame. Kisame might be able to find someone on short notice in the realm of body guards that aren't inherently suspicious. That merger with Orochimaru just went through and if Sasuke has a hulking, huge ass body guard following him around, it's going to look a little strange."

"Yeah, you're right." Itachi said, rubbing the space between his eyes. "I'll call Kisame and hopefully he'll find something by tomorrow morning."

"Fugaku didn't hurt you, right?" Madara's brow was slightly wrinkled as he gently pushed the hair from Itachi's face, looking for bruises. He noticed a handprint on Itachi's forearm and he instantly frowned. Itachi leaned forward and he laid his head onto Madara's shoulder. Itachi sighed as Madara pulled his nephew in closer, hugging him gently. "My poor baby, Itachi. I didn't get here in time."

Itachi thought back to when he was a child. Nearly every single day Itachi had to call Madara or Izuna to ask for them to save him from his father. And they'd always come, no matter what. And Madara especially would always hold him and say 'my poor baby, Itachi' while gently rubbing his back and checking him for bruises. That was how Madara had won custody of Itachi when he was eleven and he never once regretted having Madara take care of him.

"Nothing's going to harm you, not while I'm around. I'm staying here tonight, I know you handled your father but I just don't trust the atmosphere tonight; its overbearingly stressful."

Itachi nodded. "Yeah; the guest room is more than likely going to be occupied tonight by Sasuke so just, uh, couch fort it."

Madara waved his nephew off. "Yeah, yeah. I won't be sleeping much anyway. Go to bed, Itachi. We have a long day tomorrow."  
>-<p>

Sasuke felt strangely hurt by what had transpired tonight. He couldn't exactly name the feeling welling up in his gut but if it could even begin to be named, he would say it was guilt. He made everyone worry about him. He got Itachi hurt by his father, and not to mention probably broke a very strained relationship. The anger in Itachi's eyes may have been muted for Sasuke's sake, but Sasuke could see it. It was welling up in the dark pools and starting to overwhelm their usual calmed storm of emotion.

And all of this commotion just kept reminding Sasuke that he was just a replacement. He was Itachi's replacement for a brother, Fugaku, or whatever his name was, replacement for a son, and even Naruto, his best friend, he was Naruto's replacement for a boyfriend. If he could even label their relationship that...

This was all spiraling out of control too quickly for Sasuke to full grasp. He thought he just had to worry about being sent back to Danzo when in actuality he had to worry about the people who seemed the least threatening. The people around him. Though Sasuke believed Naruto and Itachi incapable of danger, Madara's inner circle, Madara himself, and Itachi's father were definitely capable of violent or criminal mischief.

Sasuke rubbed his hands through his hair as he stared up at the ceiling. Maybe he should convince Itachi that he needed to be house bound for a while. Tell everyone that he 'had an accident' and couldn't be up and about for the next couple weeks until the heat died down. He doubted Itachi would go for it, not to mention they'd have to forge even more false documents, or what have you, to even make the media believe them in the first place.

Sasuke's phone on the table started to go off, vibrating loudly. Thinking it was Naruto, Sasuke didn't even hesitate to answer. "Dobe, I just saw you, you don't need to check up on me."

"_That's a cute pet name for him, you know?"_Sasuke's blood turned to ice in his veins when that voice hissed with sadistic pleasure through the line. The pretend Uchiha's hands shook as he continued to hold the phone to his ear, too terrified to even consider hanging up.

"How did you get this number?" Sasuke heard the chuckle and knew his question was about to be ignored.

"_So well trained, such a perfect little pet. I'm proud to have called you once mine. But you're slipping Daisuke. Your composure is cracking; your training is slowly failing you. It hasn't taught you how to deal with the shit storm you're in right now. Watch your back, beautiful, cause I know I will be."_

The line went dead and Sasuke just dropped the phone and stared at it on the bed next to him. How could…? Who gave…? A deathly cold chill made its way up the raven's spine as he curled up in a small ball, lying on his side in Itachi's bed. He had come into the Uchiha's room hoping he and his master could talk a little, but he realized now that this was a mistake and he should just go. Sasuke didn't even know if he could form words.

Slowly Sasuke moved from the silken sheets that usually housed the object of his desire and to the door, coming to it in time for Itachi to almost hit him with it.

"Oh, Sasuke, I didn't expect you to be in here." Itachi closed the door behind him. "I thought you'd still be angry with me about earlier and I'd have to coax you into talking to me, but I guess now that you're here we can proper-"

Itachi was cut off by Sasuke practically collapsing into sobs, curling himself into the tall raven's chest as he cried. Fists were knotted into the Uchiha's shirt as Sasuke wailed into Itachi's. The Uchiha was secretly smirking because this was probably the most honest Sasuke was going to be with him emotionally until they got to know each other better. Itachi softly caressed the black spikes of his pet, cooing and purring at him to calm the boy.

Sasuke didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell Itachi about the call but every time he thought about it, it made him want to throw up. He was in grave danger now. Itachi and Madara too. How could this be happening to him? Danzo promised something like this would never happen, so why was it? Sasuke buried his face even deeper into Itachi's chest and the Uchiha couldn't help but smile.

"It's okay Sasuke, I'll protect you." Itachi muttered as he kissed the top of the boy's head.

Sasuke knew Itachi didn't know why he was crying. He probably thought it was because of the incident downstairs but that wasn't the case at all. If Itachi knew the truth…

The raven decided to keep this one to himself for the time being.  
>-<p>

Itachi sat at his desk, pensively staring at his office door. Last night had been a real eye opener about how unsafe and volatile their little secret really was. Though, of course, Itachi never thought that it could be because of his own father. He always thought that in this little web of lies, Madara would have been the one to slip up. Itachi sighed, rubbing his eyes. At least he always had one person he could constantly rely on. Kisame, his wonderful bodyguard.

He had met the man in a bar his uncle insisted on dragging him too. At the time, Kisame was a bouncer. And as far as obnoxious drunk people and bars go, Itachi wasn't particularly enjoying himself that night. He especially did not enjoy when a drink was spilled on him, the man blamed him for the spilt drink, and challenged him to a fist fight. Of course, Itachi, at the time, was just drunk enough and annoyed enough to engage in such a barbaric method of problem-solving. And just as Itachi planned on smashing a bar stool over the man's head, Kisame grabbed the guy, threw him physically out of the bar and just smiled at Itachi. Itachi knew as soon as he saw that shark-tooth grin; this was going to be the beginnings of a phenomenal friendship.

Kisame walked into the room, holding the door open for a much shorter counterpart. Kisame himself was a giant of a man so the person who slipped under his arm and into the room was probably a little less than average height. He was remarkably lanky for someone Itachi assumed Kisame was going to suggest as a bodyguard for his pet. He had a cocky smirk which revealed jagged rows of sharpened teeth, just like Kisame's. Maybe Kisame knew more about the boy in front of him than Itachi could imagine.

"Good morning, boss!" Cheery as usual, Kisame took a seat next to the boy and threw an arm around his shoulder. The kid didn't seem to like that, huffing with annoyance. Itachi couldn't help but feel that he and Sasuke would get along fine. "You know, your request was a little difficult to fill but I managed to find something. This is Suigetsu, we worked for the same organization before it broke up."

"How old is he? He can't be as old as you." Itachi muttered, sitting back in his chair slightly.

"Hey, are you calling me old?!" Kisame seemed genuinely hurt by the comment and Itachi smirked.

"Oh calm down, you're a spry chicken compared to Madara."

"Yeah, that's true, how old is he? Like a thousand?"

"No, sorry, I'm one thousand three hundred and four." Madara said as he entered the room. "Thanks for playing." The man came to stand behind Itachi, ruffling his nephew's well-kept mane. Madara looked at the kid sitting next to Kisame and gave a soft chuckle. "Wow Kisame, this kid the best you could do? How old is he, sixteen? Maybe?"

"I'm twenty one, ass-bang!" Suigetsu said as he stood up abruptly. "And I'm not a kid!"

"Sure, sure." Madara said in a teasing tone. "Compared to me, everyone's a kid, okay? So sit down and calm yourself."

Kisame laughed as he forced Suigetsu back into his set with a mighty thrust of his hand. "As you can see, Suigetsu is a little hot tempered. He hasn't been in the business very long so you'll have to forgive him if he's a little rude." He put the emphasis on 'rude' as he ruffled Suigetsu's hair.

"It's fine. His hot temper and Sasuke's cold personality will probably complement each other and create a good dynamic. Don't you think so, Itachi?"

"Hn. What are his qualifications? He looks positively scrawny." Suigetsu flushed indignantly at the comment and huffed childishly.

"Ah and therein lies Suigetsu's secret success as a bodyguard. You told me to find the most normal looking person I could, around Sasuke's age so no one would get suspicious when they were seen together in public. So, I did just that. Suigetsu is quite an accomplished marksman (1) not to mention his muscles are very lean, so he doesn't look intimidating like me. He can probably bench a little less than I can. He's not someone to be taken lightly, however."

"So he'll be useful in shoot-outs and fist fights, good to know." Madara said. "How is he with planning security detailing?"

"Not necessary." Itachi muttered. "Sasuke is highly suspicious on his own accord, besides, we already know who will be targeting him."

"Speaking of which…Itachi I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you last night." Kisame said as he looked at the Uchiha. He smiled at his bodyguard.

"It is my fault really. I should have called you to patrol my house as soon as Madara told me he had been harassed by him earlier. Don't fret about my wellbeing when it cannot be helped. But back to the matter at hand." Itachi turned his attention towards Suigetsu. The white haired man suddenly felt a good amount of pressure on himself as the Uchiha's eyes scanned him; look at his face, his body and then smirking. "How are you with keeping secrets? The last thing we need is for good ol' Madara to throw you out a window because you're a rat."

"Everyone has their secrets and there's a reason they're called secrets. They ain't mine, I ain't gunna share 'em. Besides, it probably won't even be that bad anyway. I got plenty of secrets."

"Sasuke isn't Madara's real son."

Suigetsu felt like he just got slapped in the face by Kisame and just dead-stared at Itachi. He was looking pensively at the man across the desk from him and Madara was smirking too. Suigetsu knew if he reacted the wrong way, gave them any reason to suspect that he'd betray them, not only would he not get the job, he wouldn't be walking out of this room. Suigetsu nodded. "I thought that whole story was a little fishy. Oh well, not like I care about the intricate lives of rich people and what they do to spice up their lives."

"Glad to hear it." Madara said with a smirk. "Now how much do we gotta pay you to make sure those lips stay sealed? I'd say we'd pay you as much as we pay Kisame, but he's loyal to Itachi completely. Unlike you, you might not like Sasuke and therefore want to get back at him for anything he does. So, how much fish-kid?"

"How much do you pay, Kisame?"

"I gross about one to three million a year. I pick up Madara 'bonuses' from time to time. I live comfortably."

"I want five million."

"Four." Madara instantly fired back. "Four is more than enough."

Suigetsu got so nervous from Madara yelling an answer right back at him that all he could do was nod. "Yeah, four is fine."

"Oh and just to get everything super clear." Madara said with a smirk. "Anything happens to Sasuke, whether it him be physically attacked, sexually assaulted, and the like…Not only will you not get paid, I'll make sure for the rest of your life that every day is a waking torment of pain and misery that you'll never be able to escape. No matter where you go, or who you become. I'll find you."

Suigetsu felt a bead a sweat drip down his neck as Kisame filled the room with a hearty chuckle. He slapped Suigetsu on the back and nearly made his eyes fly out of his head. "Ah this is great huh, kid?"

"Oh yeah, super."

"I'll have you start tomorrow. Sasuke will no doubt be willing to be up and about then. But in the meantime, Suigetsu, you'll be finishing the fine details of your contract with Kisame and me." Itachi said as he unfolded his hands and stood up. "Uncle, do you want to break the news to Sasuke, or should I?"

"That brat hates me since I nailed his precious little boyfriend. You break it to him." Madara countered, waving off his nephew.

"Of course. Shall we go gentlemen?"  
>-<p>

"But Sasuke, isn't it a little dangerous to go it alone?" Naruto muttered as he clung to Sasuke's arm for dear life. After the incident the other night, Naruto had been sticking to him like glue. Sasuke knew it was partially because Sasuke had been so upset about what happened and Naruto wanted to comfort him, and the other part came from Naruto's seemingly endless desire to love Sasuke with all of his heart, especially after sleeping with his 'father'.

"Naruto, the business I need to attend to doesn't have anything to do with you. Listen, I just need to do this for myself."

"You aren't even going to tell me what you're doing?"

"Naruto, please don't be like this. I just need some very important information."

"Sasuke, you got attacked last night by Itachi's crazy father! It isn't safe for you to roam around without someone going with you."

Sasuke was beginning to get annoyed and he shook his arm free of the blond's hold, making Naruto huff indignantly. The raven folded his arms across his chest and stared at Naruto, who looked so concerned that tears were starting to well up in his eyes. Sasuke's anger started to soften, if not ever so slightly, and he opened his arms. Naruto was in them within a moment.

"Sasuke, please be reasonable. I wouldn't be able to stand it if you were hurt."

"I need to find out some things about Madara and the whole Uchiha family, alright? This is my family too you know and I want to know what makes us tick. I found somewhere with a lot of old family records that I'm going to go through. Does that make you feel any better?"

"No." Naruto replied bluntly.

"Hn. You're so stubborn."

"Take me with you!"

"No. Do you really want to sit in an old, dusty library all afternoon and learn more about the family whose head patriarch fucked you raw?"

Naruto's face heated up and he pushed Sasuke's chest. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

"When it stops being funny, I will." Sasuke was smirking and Naruto sighed.

"Fine, fine. But you text me every few minutes to let me know what's going on, just in case I have to panic call Itachi and Madara, alright?"

"Deal."

Sasuke felt bad about lying to Naruto but there was no way he could tell the blond the truth about what he was going to be doing downtown. He walked through a dank alley and strutted down the all too familiar streets in front of his former home. He needed to see Sai and this was the only place he knew for sure he would be. That brat must have called that man, given him Sasuke's number, and just sat back and laughed about. How cruel Sai could be when he felt like it. Sasuke frowned as he knocked on the door of the club.

The small plate slid back and a pair of dark eyes peered out at Sasuke. The man behind the slot chuckled as he closed the slot again. "Well, well, I never expected to see you back here of your own accord."

Sasuke heard the heavy mechanisms of the door spring open. It was only a matter of seconds before Sasuke was walking inside, greeted by the familiar smell of cigarettes and bad cologne of old men. He watched his fellow pets doing the trade tricks, their eyes hollow as he passed them. Some of them had their eyes glued on him even as he walked into the backroom. He could feel the stabbing of jealousy in those glances.

Danzo wasn't particularly hard to find. He was sitting in his office, Sai atop him, petting through the hair the old man had left. The extremely pale raven was completely blank as he took one of the old man's fingers into his mouth and gave it a gentle bite. Sasuke knocked on the door frame, more than annoyed that his former owner didn't even bother to keep the door closed during his private matters.

The older man's eyes were clouded with lust and anger until he saw Sasuke was the one in the door way, face a mask of porcelain beauty. He smiled as Sai got off his lap, glaring at the other raven.

"Daisuke, my porcelain doll, what do I owe for the pleasure of your visit? Itachi isn't returning you, is he?" It was always money with Danzo. Sasuke rolled his eyes as Sai passed by him in the doorway, smiling.

"Itachi probably knows that used good don't have as much value." Sasuke licked his lips and grabbed onto Sai's arm, causing the other raven to growl with annoyance.

"As much as I'd love to catch up with you master, I've actually come for the pleasure of Sai's company." Sasuke's said, his voice was clearly sweet and seductive. It was the way Danzo had told him to talk to the customers, not that he had ever been used out on the floor. Danzo smirked as he waved the duo of ravens away.

Sai didn't seem particularly pleased with Sasuke's visit but he was sporting a strangely grateful body language. "As much as I'd like to thank you for saving me from Danzo's grabby paws, I know I'd immediately regret it as soon as you tell me why you're really here. Spill it, Daisuke, I don't have all day."

Sasuke smiled as he shoved Sai into one of the walls. His fists were knotted in the black cloth as he leaned in, glaring, eyes full of rage. "You know Sai, I got the strangest call yesterday." Sai's brows narrowed as Sasuke got right in his face. "Do you know who it was from? My favorite snake in the grass owner, Orochimaru. Now doesn't that seem a little strange?"

Sai swatted Sasuke's hands away, causing him to back away to avoid getting slapped in the face. "My, my, how presumptuous. What makes you think it was me?"

Sasuke smirked. "Because you were the one who gave Orochimaru the information about how we faked the tests in the first place. If you don't think Madara has his ways about finding out information, you're dead wrong. If you thought Danzo was a threat, you've never had the distinct pleasure of Madara's company. And I suggest, beautiful doll, that if you want to keep yourself beautiful and out of the training room, that you stop while you're ahead."

"Don't say that!" Sai seemed suddenly very tense and held onto himself as he looked at Sasuke. Sasuke forgot just how terrified Sai was of that particular training room. Sasuke knew it too, of course, but he had never had the displeasure of serving out punishment inside of it. Not like Sai. Sai was very good at getting caught up in his own lies, even when they were younger.

Sasuke felt a little bad when he looked at Sai like that. He remembered Sai coming back after spending three days in that room. He was naked from the chest up and there were cherry welts all over his back and chest, some of them had burst into blood. Not to mention Sai could barely walk afterwards. He knew Danzo had whipped him but he didn't know what else had happened. All Sasuke could speculate was it was the reason why Sai was never offered up as a virgin.

"Fine, I'm sorry." Sasuke said softly. "Just keep your mouth shut and your head down. I told Madara I'd take care of this and if you make me look foolish by sticking your neck out again, I won't be able to protect you."

Sai seemed to relax slightly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head. "He blabbed to Madara as soon as he got the info, didn't he?"

"You met Orochimaru, he's a fool. A self-absorbed fool. He couldn't keep his loose lips together for very long, as soon as he thought he had something over Madara, he tried to use it."

Sai shook his head. "The bastard could have got me killed. I just thought he'd torture you a little, I never thought he was stupid enough to challenge Madara…Although, that recent bankruptcy he had makes way more sense now."

"Bankruptcy?"  
>-<p>

"_And now to Sasaki Kurosawa with late and breaking news from Akatsuki Corp."_

"_Thank you Mika. We've just received news from Uchiha Madara himself that Akatsuki Corps will be joining together with Konoha Enterprises to create a better, more efficient company. Madara was quoted saying that 'the rivalry between Namikaze Minato and I are over, this is a time, not for competition, but for customer satisfaction. Minato, himself, is the king of that.'"_

"_Such uplifting words from Uchiha Madara. We had hoped for a brief statement from Uchiha Itachi as well, but he couldn't be contacted in time…Coming up in other news Oto Corps, a smaller software company has gone bankrupt and has officially shut its doors as of last night…"_

Madara smirked with satisfaction as he turned the television off, getting up to make himself a drink. Four fingers of whiskey later, Madara sat back down, still feeling very satisfied with everything. Of course any news about his company would be good news to everyone, especially this. He was a little hesitant about releasing the details early but it was bound to be leaked by someone other than himself eventually. Madara just hoped that brat Kyuubi could keep his mouth closed around his father long enough for everything to be finalized in paperwork. He couldn't imagine the damage control Itachi would have to do if Minato found out Madara had slept with Naruto.

In fact, Madara wasn't sure how he was going to handle the media's insistence on a certain blond, raven couple who seemed to be popping up more and more. It seems that Sasuke and Naruto weren't just captured kissing that one time and that the paparazzi had been secretly stalking Sasuke around when he had been at school or out on the town with Naruto. Madara shook his head, vultures.

It wasn't that Madara particularly protested against Sasuke and Naruto being together in the media. He thought they were cute and if Sasuke really was his son, he wouldn't care if Sasuke decided to pursue the blond. The problem lied in what the media was twisting that relationship to mean. When the media caught wind of Madara's and Kyuubi's tryst; they had a field day. Everything that happened after the break up was used to make Madara look like a bad guy. No one highlighted the fact that Kyuubi was a little brat about the whole ordeal. He just didn't want anyone to think Sasuke and Naruto were playing lovey-dovey as a means to get the companies together on speaking terms. If the media could even begin to pretend like they knew the deep social connection Itachi had to Minato, their heads would spin. But of course, no one really spoke much about the past around the Uchiha clan…

The house was dead silent as the distant ticking of the grandfather clock could be heard in the background. Most of the servants Madara had were home with their families…Madara was alone, in his study.

Madara picked up his silver cigarette case and pulled one out, slipping it between his lips before lighting it. The smoke was sighed out as the Uchiha took a sip of his drink. "Happy anniversary, love."  
>-<p>

"_喂__?" (_Hello?)

"你好，这是我. "(Hey, it's me.)

"_阿，您好，__您要做什么呢__?" (_ah, hey, what do you want?)

"好像我们得倒垃圾。" (seems like we have to take out the trash.)

"_现在吗？__"__(_right now?)

"对，平常的地方. 我们在这儿到的时候再说吧。再见。" （Right, the usual place. When we're both there, we'll speak again. Goodbye）

"_再见。__"_(Bye)

1. If you don't know what a marksman is, it is someone who is really good with hitting targets. Implying Suigetsu is quite good with a gun.

2. sorry if there are any mistakes, my Mandarin isn't that good, I'm only in my second year so forgive any mistakes if you see them. D:

**I gotta say I got this done pretty quick. And I really hope you guys enjoyed it. I know I did. The next chapter is when the plot is really going to start picking itself up and make you all stressed out because who doesn't like that?**

**Sasuke: Oh good, stress out the readers.****  
><strong>**Me: We can all use a bit of good stress in our lives.****  
><strong>**Sasuke: Why not just give them the happy ending they want?****  
><strong>**Me: The happy ending isn't nearly as good without all the suffering in between. This was Hitoko-Sama**


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING: the next few chapters are going to be super ratchet and full of drama. Ahahaha xD I'm saying that like it's a bad thing. REGULAR PV**

_I can turn it on  
>Be a good machine<br>I can hold the weight of worlds  
>If that's what you need<br>Be your everything  
>I can do it<br>I can do it  
>I'll get through it<em>

_**Human- Christina Perri**_  
><strong>-<strong>

"You got me a body-guard?" Sasuke turned his head towards the man with white hair sitting on the couch, sipping from a plastic water bottle. He was sitting next to Itachi's incredibly huge, bulking body guard, smirking, staring over at Itachi, who has an eyebrow raised.

"Listen, I know this is sudden but with recent events, Madara and I…"

"Oh, so this is really just Madara's idea?"

"Hey, don't drag me into this. If I had it all my way, you would just be chained up in Itachi's bed. But the world isn't perfect." Madara came to stand next to his nephew, poking him in the temple. "See? This is why I didn't want to be involved when you told him. He would just throw me under the bus with his assumptions."

Sasuke turned away from his 'father' and clicked his tongue, looking straight at Itachi. "I don't need a body-guard. Your father just caught me off guard. I can protect myself."

"Sasuke, this isn't up for discussion. You think I keep Kisame around because I can't protect myself? Well, you'd be wrong. But sometimes it's nice knowing that there is someone there who has your back." Itachi came to stand next to the smaller raven, running a hand against his cheek. "Kisame looked for a while and Suigetsu is the best we could fine. You'll thank me for this later."

Sasuke turned his head away defiantly, eyes flashing with rage and a different emotion Itachi fully couldn't name. If he had to guess, it was something akin to panic. He was about to open his mouth when Suigetsu, getting bored with the scene, decided perhaps he should get off his ass and run to his own defense. He wrapped his arm around Sasuke's shoulder, making the pretend-Uchiha cringe but he was unable to pull himself away.

"Alright Princess, this is how things are going to be…" Sasuke's face went from annoyed and blank, to murderous in two seconds flat.

Madara couldn't contain the bubbles of laughter as they leapt from his throat. "_Princess._ That's rich."

"Yeah, I called you Princess, and no, I don't care if you glare holes into the side of my head." Suigetsu moved so that he was pacing around the raven. Suddenly Sasuke felt something cold and metal pressing into the side of his head. He turned his eyes so that he and Suigetsu were glancing at each other, looking through the trigger of the gun. Sasuke's eyes were shining with adrenaline. This idiot was either trying to give him a moment to prove that he could protect himself, or he was suicidal. And true to his thoughts, Madara was reaching towards his back pocket. But Sasuke was faster. He grabbed Suigetsu's arm, spinning his elbow back so that it collided into Suigetsu's chest, knocking the breath from him. The gun loosened from his grip and Sasuke's hand viper struck Suigetsu's elbow, causing the gun to come flying from his hand. Suigetsu stumbled slight, his footing getting mixed as he tried to worm around the raven. But Sasuke didn't let him get far before he swept both legs from under him.

"Next time," Sasuke said, face slightly flushed from how hard his heart was beating. His hand on Suigetsu's head, holding it down to the floor. Adrenaline made his head swim, "remember that your Princess doesn't need a Prince Charming."

"NO FAIR! I WANT A REMATCH!" Suigetsu was flustered as he leapt back onto his feet, scrambling to get his gun in the process. Madara had stilled his hand and slowly returned it to his side, smirking. "YOU GUYS DIDN'T TELL ME HE WAS PRACTICALLY MILITARY TRAINED!"

"We didn't know." Madara was still smirking, there was laugher bounding in his eyes. He walked up to his 'son', kissing him softly on the forehead. "I'm surprised. It is _incredibly_ rare that Danzo teaches the merchandise defense tactics."

Sasuke looked at Suigetsu, turned to briefly look at Itachi, who was shaking his head before glancing back at Madara. "He didn't. I had to occupy my boredom somehow. And it is surprising what kind of books and resources Danzo lets hang around. Though, to be all in fairness, most of the others couldn't read. Most of what I did there in my free time was for my benefit. I refused to be helpless. Of course, Danzo never knew about any of that. He would have had to 'retrain' me. No one knew but me." Sasuke turned so that he was face to face with his 'father'. "Though, I won't tell if you won't." He leaned in, wrapping his arms around Madara's neck. "Besides, _Daddy_ doesn't this prove I don't need a body-guard?"

Madara was smirking wider. He loved how Sasuke attempted to manipulate him. It was endearing for Sasuke to think that his charm worked on everyone. It worked a hundred percent of the time with Naruto and most of the time with Itachi, but Madara was not so swayed by a pretty face; even if it had nice, pouty, full lips.

"Listen, beautiful." Sasuke's face was blank as his arms were removed from Madara's neck. "Unless you're willing to be a cut-throat little bitch and under mind your master, I suggest you quit before we're taking a mini-vacation in my bed." Madara turned away from Sasuke, who was pouting, arms folded over his chest. "And as for you, Suigetsu, well…Maybe Sasuke doesn't need you…"

Suigetsu's face bleached with horror at those words. Oh shit, he knew he should have rejected Kisame's request as soon as he got that email. He knew dealing with these kinds of people was only going to get him killed. He swallowed hard, eyes trained on Madara. He had an extra gun strapped to his stomach, just in case. Suigetsu figured Madara would be packing heat, but he didn't know if he should over-estimate Madara just now. Madara seemed like a big time criminal, despite all the positive press. But that didn't mean he was total monster, right?

But then again, he did know the state secrets of the Uchiha clan. And that meant a body was going to go out in a bag.

"Although," Both Suigetsu and Sasuke tensed. The raven felt a soft bead a sweat trailing down his neck. "Supposing that Sasuke can kill you, it won't really be a problem." Madara pulled a gun from the tucked in area of his jacket, handing it to his 'son'. Sasuke had never held a gun before and it was heavy in his hand, foreign with a strange sense of power. "Do it, Sasuke. He knows too much."

"WHAT?!" Suigetsu looked over at Kisame, eyes pleadingly wide as he searched for any hint of sympathy in his formed trainer's eyes. He saw nothing. Kisame just stared right back at him, shrugging. How did he not see this as a bad idea from the start? If Sasuke didn't shoot to kill him today, he would definitely go home and shoot himself for being such an idiot.

"I'm not going to kill him, Madara!" Sasuke's voice rang heavy and clear through Suigetsu's head. YES! He was saved! He would throw his arms around Sasuke but he still had a very powerful weapon in his hand and judging from the previous embrace, Sasuke wasn't too big on gratitude via contact. "There's no reason to kill him. You brought him into this, he doesn't want to be part of your game."

"So you're saying you won't kill him...? Or is it more akin to not being able to kill him?" Madara's eyes shone brightly. That's where it all was dancing, mixing sinister and beauty to create something almost inhuman. Sasuke averted his eyes away from Madara and the oldest Uchiha started to laugh. "That's what I thought." He walked over to the stunned white-haired man, patting him roughly on the shoulder. "Sasuke, you may be trained to defend yourself but that means nothing when you can't go far enough to make sure none of your enemies can pin you down with a second attempt. As long as you cannot kill, and your moral compass is still pointing you towards good, then you'll need Suigetsu." Madara was striding forward, his pacing even as he strode closer to the front door. He was smiling as he turned, acknowledging all of them in the living room. "Oh and Suigetsu, you manage to beat Sasuke in a fight and I might just throw in a little extra money. Why not make this relationship of yours a little more interesting, huh?"

And with that, Madara opened the door, shutting it behind him.  
>-<p>

"This is so stupid…" Sasuke muttered as Suigetsu followed behind him. Sasuke was getting more and more used to have Suigetsu presence following him around but it was still strange, either way. It was the first day that they were supposed to get to know each other. Sasuke was annoyed.

He had thought maybe his little show of strength would free him from having a body-guard but Itachi almost seemed more reluctant afterwards. And then Madara just had to open his mouth, he just had to. After the proposal, Suigetsu seemed incredibly reluctant to leave Sasuke's side in hopes he could find an opening. Or that's how it seemed.

"It could be worse, Princess." Suigetsu said, taking a loud gulp from his water bottle.

Sasuke had noticed that Suigetsu had a very strange addiction, water. He had about thirty bottles with him at all time. And instead of how people chain-smoked cigarettes, he chain-drank water. It was like he was constantly thirsty. Sasuke wanted to ask him about his strange quirk but that would signal that Sasuke was curious about his companion and that he may actually _LIKE_ to spend time with him. That was the last thing he wanted. If Suigetsu felt uncomfortable and unwanted for long enough, Sasuke hoped that he would just leave.

Though, he did know very sensitive information. Madara probably wouldn't let him live if he just left. From his display the previous day, it was more than apparent that Madara was ready to resort to violence to protect any of his assets. Sasuke knew that though. Madara had a tragic past. He may not say much about it, except on rare occasions, but that didn't mean it didn't happen. There was something there, hidden under the floorboards of Madara's heart. He was defensive for a reason.

Suigetsu was watching the back of Sasuke's head as he followed him down the sidewalk. He could tell that this guy was just trying to be normal; that he just wanted to be a person. Suigetsu could understand that. Everyone wanted to be normal. But, as Suigetsu knew, life didn't always deal the best of hands, especially not to those who craved it most.

However, Sasuke normalcy was bought. He was almost forced to put on a face and walk around as someone who had a normal life. But how could you act normal when you weren't even allowed to have a single taste of it? And to the very well trained eye, you could see the cracks in Sasuke's mask. Madara and Itachi may have built him a life, but they should have made sure the foundation they built it on was more stable. To Suigetsu, this was all going to be a matter of time.

"Alright, Princess, let me just say one thing." Suigetsu stopped walking and Sasuke also paused in front of him, turning to face him. "I get that you don't want me around, but like it or not, you don't know how things really work in this town."

"You're saying that to me, of all people?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows raised. "I'm assuming that since Madara said I needed to kill you that you know about me. So, want to rephrase that?"

Suigetsu buttoned his lips. How exactly could he say what he meant without hurting Sasuke's feelings or making it too vague that Sasuke could just run through his argument? He sighed and they started walking again. "All I'm going to say is that there is a lot of money and weight being thrown around right now. And you seem to be caught right in the middle of it."

Sasuke turned again, making Suigetsu almost run into him as they both stopped. "Just because I wasn't raised on the streets doesn't mean I don't know how they work, Suigetsu. I know very well my position is NOT one to be favored. But there isn't much I can do but hang on for the ride."

Suigetsu nodded and they continued walking. The white haired man, walking behind the pretend-Uchiha, couldn't help but notice that he kept digging into his pocket, staring at his phone, before shoving it right back in. He wondered what that was all about.

"Suigetsu, we need to move quickly soon…"

The white haired man looked at the raven in front of him, eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"Paparazzi…"

"Oh my God." All of them seemed to turn all at once when they saw the pair and all the color seemingly drained out of him face.

Suigetsu realized then, that his life was going to get so much more difficult.  
>-<p>

Itachi was going through his emails, moving them into specific folders, deleting them when he saw fit, and marking them for printing into his files. He should really ask Konan to start doing these things for him but for some reason he felt like she would mess it up. He shook his head. He really needed to start slackening the grip of his death hold over his life.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. This was becoming too much. His life seemed as though it was starting to spiral out of control. Trying to protect their secret, Sasuke's emotional wildness, Madara's moods, his father…

A brief visage of his father smiling came to Itachi's mind and he couldn't exactly place the image in his memory. He was sure his father had smiled plenty of times in the past, but most of the memories remembered the most vividly weren't exactly of the happiest times. He didn't exactly have the best childhood after his brother…Vanished.

Itachi looked away from the computer, stood up quickly, and turned towards the window. He looked out into the business district and saw tall skyscrapers of towering glass, steel backbones standing firm, and then in some of the corners he could see the old buildings of bought out competitors, sagging with age and lack of use. The corporate game constantly thrown in Itachi's face, he spent eight years in college to end up at his uncle's company, not actually using the skills he procured to create anything. Madara was always much better at it anyway since he had nearly twenty years of experience but it still bothered Itachi sometimes.

At the time it seemed as though he was finally following his own path. He had ignored his father's pleas for him to join the army, then ignored him again when he implored Itachi to join the police academy. Itachi, thought, sometimes felt guilty about his decisions; that he had wasted all the years of physical training his father gave him while he had been under his care. However, when he had those moments, it just took a few carefully selected memories of his childhood to make him realize that his father putting a child who was only eight under that much pressure to preform was the exact reason he had control issues.

And then, to be fair, when he was under Madara's care, he made Itachi's take up karate mostly because Izuna had been so paranoid something was going to happen to Itachi. It just made Izuna so much less on edge. How Itachi hadn't seen how distressed Izuna actually was, was completely beyond him. All the signs had been there.

Itachi looked away from the window then. Yet again, there he was. Blaming himself for things that weren't really his fault. He could have never predicted Izuna's suicide. He never could have predicted his mother's suicide. He never could have stopped the man who took his brother…

He sat back down at this desk. How could one family have this much tragedy? Itachi kicked his legs up on his desk and sat back, hands behind his head. The Uchiha clan must have been cursed or something, built up so much bad karma that there was no way to repay it all over time. Itachi sighed. His father especially must have racked up the bad karma, losing both children, his wife, and brothers all in one life time. Maybe that's why Fugaku seemed so crazy yet normal when Itachi spoke to him.

His father had seemed so sure, Itachi couldn't understand why. They had sunk millions of dollars in police efforts, search parties, private detectives, and just any last ditch effort his father could think of. It all was clean. It was like Sasuke had never existed. And having him disappear like that made no sense to Itachi. The Uchiha family was rich, especially Madara's branch of the family. They could have held Sasuke for ransom. Madara and Fugaku could have easily covered any price, even in the hundred millions. Madara was now billionaire, he had plenty of money to spare at any given time.

Maybe that was why Fugaku seemed so sure…Maybe he believed Sasuke was alive. But then again, it had been twenty years. And that's a very long time for someone to be missing without any hint of them appearing. And as much as Itachi tried to deny it, Sasuke looked a lot like his mother. Madara had told him his father was making strange connects like that too, though. How could it be crazy if it seemed to be true? Then again, Sasuke also did look a lot like Izuna as well and his father never mentioned that either. Perhaps that would be because it reaffirmed that it could mean Sasuke was really Madara's son.

His father may have been a retired police officer, but he knew his father couldn't still be that sharp. So, if it wasn't just dumb luck or skill that meant there had to be a slice of validity to it, right? Did that mean there was a chance his father was right all along? That his Sasuke was actually his brother, Sasuke?

Itachi shook his head, dragging his hands down his face, breathing out loudly. "Wow, what a pretty face." Madara said, as he opened Itachi's office door. Heat boiled behind Itachi's skin and he looked away from his uncle and at his computer. Madara leaned over Itachi's chair, giving his nephew a kiss on the top of his head. "Hn, you're a little more wistful than usual. What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about my father…And Izuna…" Itachi muttered. "Just, you know, typical repressed guilt."

"Maybe I should get you a therapist." Madara replied. "You need to let this all go, Itachi. It's going to make your pretty face get old faster. I mean think about what I would look like if I let all the guilt get me down. I'd look worse than your father."

"I don't know." Itachi said with a shrug. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing the right thing and the reason why I have so much guilt is because I need to focus my attention so where else, but I just don't know where."

"By doing what?" Madara asked, eyebrow raised, drawing his features to slightly wrinkle. "If you let all of your guilt for what happened really get to you, you'd become your father, Itachi. And I don't want to have to remind you of what kind of man he became. Itachi, you have to become comfortable with who you are, and what unconscious desires you really have. I mean, we both know why you picked that raven brat in the first place. You have a fetish for it, after all."

Itachi scoffed, face reddening. "Freudian desires aside, Madara, there must be something else here that's working me over. I keep thinking about it, no matter what. The only time I ever just stop and let my mind go free is when I'm with him."

"Oh God." Madara buried his head in his hands. "You're in love with him, aren't you? Genuinely too! You disgust me!" Madara, true to his age and maturity, made gagging noises and stuck his tongue out in revilement.

"So what if I am? Shouldn't you be happy I found someone after twenty-five years?"

"No." Madara said very bluntly. "You technically fell in love with a prostitute who's an emotional wreck and a brat to boot. And plus, you named him after your little brother, which caused us sooo many unwanted problems."

"Well, to be fair, loving uncle, you said I could have whatever I want."

"I'm too nice to you." Madara whined. "No one's ever nice to me. I care too much, obviously." Madara and Itachi's phones both went off: Itachi's buzzing loudly on his desk while Madara's chimed like a whistle in his pocket. "Oh joy, it's that brat Kyuubi. I don't see why he thinks I'm going to talk to him. I banged his brother, not him. He should get over that."

"…My text is also from Kyuubi." Itachi's eyebrows furrowed together. "What does yours say?"

Madara didn't like the look on Itachi's face and opened the message. _"Have you seen Naruto? He didn't come home last night." _

"Naruto didn't come home…Why does he assume I'd know anything about that?" Madara muttered, looking down at Itachi. "Was he with Sasuke?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, I was with him all night. Naruto didn't even text him, which Sasuke remarked was kind of strange. I'll text Sasuke to see if he knows anything. Don't say anything to Kyuubi just yet, okay? I don't want him freaking out over nothing."

Madara shrugged. "It's so strange that Naruto goes missing and everyone sounds the alarm but when Kyuubi used to fall off the face of the Earth for months at a time, no one even batted an eye."

"Kyuubi always told me where he was going." Itachi muttered. "Plus with Kyuubi, Minato could easily follow the receipts. He knew when Kyuubi was going before he even left. Naruto isn't as much of a free spirit. So of course they're going to be worried. I'm just hop-"

"Don't say it, Itachi. Cause the moment you say it, the moment it becomes real." Madara said. "I'll do some checking around, it's not hard to hack into someone's bank statements. I'll call you if anything strange pops up, or if he bought himself a Kyuubi-like trip."

Itachi nodded and stared at his phone, hearing the door click behind his uncle as he left. He wanted to say that something about this situation didn't sit right with him. That maybe something happened to Naruto, but Madara was right, the moment you started to think something had gone wrong, the more likely you were to jump to conclusions. Itachi couldn't assume anything yet. He needed the facts first.  
>-<p>

"Why do you keep checking your phone like that?" Suigetsu asked, obviously getting annoyed. Sasuke turned, his face being one of slight embarrassment, like he himself hadn't noticed he was acting strangely.

"Hn." Sasuke just looked away and continued to stare at his phone.

"Are you like waiting for something? Or are you contemplating a murder, perhaps and need a code word?"

"I'm waiting for someone to text me." Sasuke reply was blunt and Suigetsu shook his head, annoyed more and more by the pretend Uchiha. He had the same attitude as Madara and Itachi, he looked exactly like them. It was so weird that he wasn't actually one of them. Suigetsu's eye twitched.

"Who? Itachi? Madara? Aliens?"

"Why do you care?" Sasuke asked, turning in his seat. He was almost hoping the waitress would come back with their food but then he realized he could torture Suigetsu with not knowing who was preoccupying his mind so.

"I'm deeply concerned, as your friend, with your personal affairs. Come on yo, I'm just really bored and I might as well know everything I need to know about you so I can better protect you. Do you think Itachi keeps secrets from Kisame? Nope, no he doesn't. We gotta have a relationship like that, Princess. It's my job after all."

"Why don't you just guess? I'm a creature of habit."

Suigetsu's eyes rolled in their sockets as he sat there with Sasuke. He didn't know why this was bothering him so much. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he cared that much. Maybe it was because due to whoever not texting him, Sasuke had been ignoring him even more severely. He doubted it was Madara because Sasuke would most likely make a visible or audible sign of irritation. It wasn't Itachi either, he saw what Sasuke looked like when he got those texts. His mood was actually something akin to a normal human's. Then who else was there?

He had read a great deal about the Uchiha family since he was offered the job and most of the material had been about Sasuke and Sasuke's relationships…Relationships…Oh. OH.

"Wait, are all those tabloids about you and Naruto actually true then? How could you, you cold-hearted slut! Itachi loves you." Sasuke's face burst with red as he slapped his hands over Suigetsu's mouth.

"_SHUT YOUR MOUTH."_ Sasuke whispered harshly. People were looking over at the duo, eyebrows raised. Other were taking quick pictures, knowing Sasuke was famous. He hoped none of them were paparazzi or that they really heard what Suigetsu had said. "It's not true, alright? Naruto and I aren't dating, I'm doing it for the cameras. I can't let them catch on to me and Itachi, can I?"

"However…?" Suigetsu was leading him and Sasuke supposed he should Suigetsu in on this, at least.

"However, Naruto is in love with me. And usually if we're not together, he's texting me at least three times a minute." Sasuke's face became pained and Suigetsu actually felt awkward about prying. He didn't know why. It was stupid for him to feel like he was intruding since he technically needed to know all of Sasuke's social connections and just WHO he was getting himself involved with. "But he hasn't texted me in nearly two days. I'm worried. He won't reply to my texts and a few minutes ago I got a text from Itachi asking if I'd seen Naruto today. Something's going on…"

Suigetsu looked Sasuke's straight in the face. "Do you think this has something to do with you? Because there's probably a hundred more likely reasons he isn't texting you. Don't worry so much."

Sasuke shrugged. "I have plenty of reason to have suspicion." The look in Sasuke's eyes made Suigetsu free up a little, not knowing exactly what Sasuke could possibly hold in those soft, obsidian wells. "If I tell you a secret, will you keep from Madara and Itachi? Can I trust you, Suigetsu?"

Suigetsu hands quaked. He didn't know why he felt so nervous. Sasuke wanted to trust him and that struck him as strange. He had been so stand-offish before and now he was ready to open up to him. Suigetsu knew that this stuff was going to be heavy. And it could be so heavy that he wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I need someone I can trust, Suigetsu. Do you understand that?"

"I understand, Sasuke. You can trust me. You ne-"

Sasuke's phone starting ringing and he frowned, pulling the device off the table in a rush. When he looked at the screen, Sasuke's face seemed to grow cold and he stood up suddenly. "Excuse me for a second, Suigetsu."

The white haired man watched as Sasuke's shadow bounced off the wall and disappeared out the door.

Sasuke's heart was beating loudly in his chest as the slide the lock screen open. He knew who this blocked number was. He knew what it meant when he answered the call. He just hoped his suspicion about it was unfounded. But the implications of hope were heavy.

"Hello?"

The line was cluttered with static but he could hear something very distinct crackling up through the static. It was deep sobbing, the only sobbing that broke through the lips when you were really suffering, when your heart and body were so much in sync with pain that it felt like nothing could fix it. And that sobbing voice, he knew it. He knew that fucking voice perfectly well…

"Naruto?"

"_Hello, Daisuke. Or do you prefer the name your master gave you?" _Sasuke put a hand over his mouth to hold the bile building up in the back of his throat. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't. How could this happen? Why was this happening? _"How are you, my beautiful doll?"_

"Orochimaru, please. Don't do this. Please, don't do this, he has _NOTHING _to do with me."

"_He's so beautiful, isn't he? Even when he's sniveling like that. Though, I have a different preference for beauty in your category, Kabuto has taken a real shine to him. Haven't you?" _There was a sudden, loud cry from Naruto. It sounded like he being ripped in half and he couldn't help but think about all of the horrible things Orochimaru and his assistant could be doing to the blond. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to speculate.

"_PLEASE STOP!" _Naruto's voice sounded so…Pained. He didn't want to think about what was happening to him…He couldn't.

"What do you want? Me? Do you want me to beg you? What?" Sasuke's voice was becoming shrill as the anger and disgust boiled up in his blood.

Orochimaru laughed into the receiver. _"You know exactly what I want, don't play coy with me." _

Sasuke swallowed. "If I do this, will you let him go?" There was a pause on the line as if he was thinking it over and that silence was driving him crazy because all he could hear was Naruto's pained moans in the background. "Please, I'll do anything. Where are you? I can be there. Where do you want me…Master?"

"_That's more like it. Tomorrow morning, I'll text you the address. I'll give you time to say goodbye to Itachi, tell him just how much you love him. Isn't that kind of me?"_

"And you'll let Naruto go as soon as I'm there?"

"_We can negotiate the terms when you ar-"_

"NO." Sasuke's voice was stern, harsh as it entered the receiver. "I won't negotiate for shit with you. I want you to promise me, you'll keep him safe. If you hurt him more, I swear I'll…"

"_Oh come now, pet. We both know you don't have the guts. But how about this; if you beg me enough, I'll let you speak to him. Will that calm you? I want you to be happy with me, Daisuke." _

"Please let me speak to him, please, just for a few minutes…I…I'll come quietly. I'll be a good boy for you, master. And if you want me to be, I'll be a dirty boy. Mhmm, you like that master? Sasuke will be your naughty little whore." Sasuke wanted to rip out his own tongue when he heard Orochimaru's huff. He was getting aroused and it made Sasuke shiver with disgust. But he would do anything to help Naruto.

"_Good boy. Here's your reward." _

Sasuke held his breath, feeling sweat trickle down his brow as he waited for any signs that Orochimaru actually was going to comply with his promise. Then he heard hoarse breathing, coughs and soft sobs. _"Sasuke?"_

Oh god, he sounded awful. Sasuke couldn't hold back his whimper. This was all his fault. "Naruto, are you okay?" It was a stupid question, he knew. But he couldn't help but ask it. He didn't know what else to say. He could hear Naruto's laugh, it was either because it was genuinely funny or because Naruto didn't know how else to react to Sasuke's question. "I'm coming for you, I won't leave you there Naruto. I promise. I'm coming.

"_Don't come."_

"What?"

"_Don't come Sasuke, they're lying!"_

"_Alright that's quite enough of that. I'll text you the address, beautiful. If you're not there by ten o'clock or you're not alone, think of the punishment Naruto will have to endure!"_

The line went dead and Sasuke clutched the phone to his chest.

He walked back into the restaurant and sat back down, face very calm and neutral. "What was that all about?" Suigetsu was suspicious by nature and by the way Sasuke ducked out of Suigetsu's line of vision, something obviously happened during that call. But Suigetsu was doubting his hypothesis with every ticking second. Sasuke's face was calm, carefree. If he was in distress, wouldn't he be trying to signal for help?

"Oh don't worry about it, it was just Madara. He and I argue frequently and it isn't exactly restaurant friendly content, you understand right?"

Suigetsu nodded. Something about this didn't sit right with him. If it was just a call from Madara, Sasuke wouldn't have reacted so adversely when he looked at the screen. His face wasn't of annoyance, it was of fear. Who could call him that would make him so afraid? Sasuke obviously was not afraid of Madara since he was openly willing to get into Madara's face over issues in which their opinions differed.

Something was fishy, and Suigetsu planned on sniffing it out.

It was going to be a long next few hours…  
>-<p>

Sasuke opened the door to the house and shut it behind him, collapsing in front of it. This very well may be the last time he would come home to Itachi, he better make the most of it. He knew as soon as Orochimaru had him in his clammy grasp, he wasn't going to let go. It was going to be worse than being with Danzo; at least Danzo acknowledged that to encourage desired behavior it needed to be reinforced. Orochimaru was just probably going to beat and force him into submission until his spirit was broken. Even with Danzo, that was reserved for only the worst of the worst and that was the level before he would kill you. If nothing worked, it was always death.

He wondered just how long it would take Orochimaru before he realized Sasuke wouldn't so easily be tamed by him. Just how patient could Orochimaru actually be? This time around, Sasuke doubted Orochimaru would be as kind but even more sexually aggressive. He wondered if he could return to Danzo for something to help numb his pain. Some of the pets were so stubborn they needed drugs to cope. Addiction made you desperate, and maybe that was Sasuke's best option. It would definitely make the sex easier.

Sasuke stood up, walking numbly up the stairs. He knew Itachi was home, he was probably sitting in his room finishing some late night emails. He had spent a lot of time with Suigetsu today because he needed to distract himself from the pain of saying goodbye to someone who genuinely cared about him. When they finally figured out he was gone, what would Itachi do? Would he cry? Would he replace him, like he had done with his brother? He wasn't sure.

The door opened slowly and the light spilled out steadily, adjusting Sasuke's eyes from the darkness of the hallway to the brightness of Itachi's room. He was tapping gently on his keyboard, looking away from the door. He had told Itachi he would be home soon and he was true to his word. A trait that he seemed to have trouble with killing. He walked up to his master, putting his arms around the Uchiha's neck, taking in the scent which seemed to halo around his hair. Itachi was so beautiful, everything about him was.

Itachi leaned his head back, about to say something but Sasuke didn't allow him to speak. He had already decided, no words tonight. He just needed a feeling other than sorrow before he broke down. If he heard Itachi's voice of treason, Naruto would be stuck there.

"Make love to me?" Sasuke whispered against Itachi's lips. The Uchiha stood from his spot, running his hands all over Sasuke's body, pulling him closer to his larger, stronger body.

Sasuke had to hold back a whine of sadness as Itachi pried his mouth open. He would never know tenderness like this ever again. He was eternally glad Itachi had taken him first though so he could know what real physical love felt like.

There was brief flashes of awareness of Itachi stripped them of their clothing. Sasuke was trailing in his thoughts and letting instinct take over for him. He kept trying to pull himself out of the well of his own mind but he found it increasingly difficult. Whenever he focused on Itachi's face, it reminded him that soon he would have to be staring up at Orochimaru. It made the arousal flood out of his body. Itachi though, didn't even seem to notice, taking it more as an excitatory challenge than a sign of what was to come.

Sasuke moaned unexpectedly loud as Itachi took his semi-hard member into his mouth. "Don't drift off; focus Sasuke."

The pressure and suction Itachi applied made Sasuke's head white-out as the pleasure rippled in waves in his stomach. He must have had a lot of pent up desire since he felt tantalizingly close to his orgasm. Itachi had barely touched him; he was already at the point where obscenities were threatening to spill from his lips if he briefly lapsed in control. Sasuke's desire was obviously manifesting in the form of sexual desperation.

Itachi looked up from his work, smirking at the shivering mass beneath him. "Hn. You're acting as though I never touch you. How cruel of me." Sasuke couldn't do anything but focus on those perfectly constructed lips. They moved to betray his will and the words that fell from them only cause his determination to falter. Itachi moved slowly, calculatedly, scaling up Sasuke's body. He was kissing every inch of skin he could, Sasuke's eyelids fluttered. His cock twitched with undeniable annoyance but Itachi ignored it, even against Sasuke's softer, whiner pleas. "Don't worry, today I'll indulge you." The pressure against his lips made Sasuke's back arch with how much need was curling up through his skin, hooking into his every pore.

"Please, hurry." Sasuke's breath was hot against Itachi's mouth as he worked his tongue into that sugary-sweet cavern. Sasuke's body was curling against Itachi's and the Uchiha felt a great deal of pleasure as he kept his pet's body squirming. Sasuke was always pretty responsive but today he was hypersensitive to even a simple kiss.

"I don't think you're in the position to negotiate terms." Itachi said cheekily. He noticed that Sasuke's eyes widened but he didn't understand why that phrase would elicit such a response. Perhaps he taken by surprise by the phrasing?

Sasuke pushed up, resting his body on the forearms beneath him. He smirked a little, rolling so that he was pushed up on his knees, his contracting entrance thrust into Itachi's face. "Am I in the right position now?"

A harsh wave of arousal surge through Itachi's stomach. There was a primal urge, something Itachi had to push down, to just thrust into Sasuke's hole. There was such a strange violent urge to dominant, cause his cheeky pet pain and control any pleasure he was going to receive, but such cravings needed to be controlled. Hurting Sasuke like that would only make Itachi feel good for a limited time. Patience earned rewards.

Sasuke whined loudly when he felt Itachi's hot breath against his entrance. There was such anticipation of pleasure, Sasuke knew he was getting worked up. His arousal twitched uncontrollably when he felt Itachi's thumb brush over his opening so intimately. Itachi hadn't even penetrated, he had just ghosted promises of pleasure over his opening, but Sasuke came anyway. His sudden orgasm made Itachi's arousal hurt as it twitched even harder with desire. The smaller raven's body was begging Itachi to make love to it. It couldn't seem to wait at all for anything. It had been so hard to arouse at first but now it was begging for Itachi's skilled attention. Sasuke's body slumped slightly forward, his arms temporarily losing strength from his surprise orgasm.

"Itachi, please, just do it. Just fuck me." His words were whispered harshly onto the fabric of Itachi's pillowcase. Sasuke's eyes were leaking with pent up desire. "It hurts…I need it." Sasuke hand snaked out behind him, firmly grasping onto Itachi's cock. The Uchiha hissed when he finally felt a semblance of pressure on his arousal.

It was there again, that urge. He wanted to shove his cock deep into Sasuke but he couldn't. He had to at least prepare him a little. Even if it was a sloppy and hasty, it was better than nothing. Itachi leaned over Sasuke body, grinding his cock against Sasuke's already wet hole, again and again. "Fuck…" Sasuke was muttering, hips lips sputtering as moans forced themselves out of his throat. He grabbed the lube from his side table. He poured it onto Sasuke's hole, causing him to shiver as the friction of Itachi's cock sped up, being more able to glide against him with ease.

Itachi wasn't done yet. But when he tried to pull his cock away so he could sink his fingers into that inviting heat, Itachi felt an unexpected pull from Sasuke, his hand still being on his cock. He was trying to force Itachi inside of him and as much as Itachi tried to resist, he found his hips complying.

When the head of Itachi's cock managed to penetrate inside, Itachi gripped Sasuke's hips tightly. Sasuke pulled his arm back, using his hands and knees to slowly push Itachi deeper inside. The unpenetrated, unpreparedness of the smaller body made Itachi's cock twitch and pulse with frictional delight. Sasuke's insides were warm and tight. Him moving so slowly made Itachi experience everything so fully, how nice and softly Sasuke's muscle contracted around him. He could see the tenseness of Sasuke's back and he gently kissed at the boy's spine, whispering sweetness against the flushed skin. It felt good, so good. Almost dream-like. How was it possible that Sasuke could feel this good?

"Itachi, more. Keep going, fuck me more."

As he pulled himself out, he dripped the cold lube onto himself. It would, at least, make the thrusting gradually easier as he continued to spread it inside Sasuke. The smaller body was relaxing slowly and soon Sasuke's soft moans filled the silence of the room. Itachi's grunts punctuated every so often and he watched as the body beneath him began to grip that oversensitive pleasure. His toes were curling, his eyelids fluttering. Did Sasuke actually enjoy all of that? Even the pain? His body was reacting as though nothing of that even hurt him.

Sasuke's voice choked in his throat when Itachi gave him a particularly forceful thrust. The lines between pleasure and pain had blurred for Sasuke as they mixed into a potent concoction that had the mission of turning his body in jelly. He couldn't help but react to every feeling Itachi gave him inside, it was all too much and not enough. Sasuke knew soon he would cum again. And it would be good. His body was acting like it was starving for attention, for anything that could be counted as physical love. It was craving to be brutally taken; something so good and lasting that Itachi's lovemaking would forever have an impact inside him, creating a physical dependence only Itachi could fulfill.

He was so close. Sasuke bit down on his lip as his nails dug into the sheets, pulling them up from the mattress. It was hard for him to think that he would never cum this hard again. He soaked up all the pleasure Itachi was giving him, committing it all to memory, every detail, every word, and all the feelings. Tears welled up in his eyes and he let them fall as he came. He had to let it all out while he still could, this was his last opportunity after all.

Itachi came inside of him shortly after, feeling his body up with semblance of warmth. His entire body shuddered as Itachi's filled him with hot seed. It was wonderful, that reassuring feeling of being filled by someone who cares about you.

The Uchiha slumped over next to Sasuke, pulling the smaller body into his arms, kissing him all over his face. "I love you."

The words felt like a stab in the heart and Sasuke just smiled. "I love you, too, Itachi."

Itachi felt like there was a great deal of unnecessary weight in those words even though he couldn't tell why. Sasuke had been acting strange since he walked into the room, but Itachi couldn't place why. He felt arms wrap around his neck and back as Sasuke moved in as closely as possible. Itachi smiled. Maybe Sasuke was being generous with his feelings and affection today. It was something Itachi could get used too.  
>-<p>

"_打扫完了。"__(I'm finished cleaning up.)_

"_你打得真快。好极了。明天，你该有你的钱__。" __(You worked quickly. Very good. Tomorrow, you should have your money.)_

"_好啊。老板，谢谢。再见，再见。__"（__good, thanks boss. See ya later.__）__  
>-<em>

**DUN, DUN, DUN! OH NO! YOU GUYS THINGS ARE TAKING ALL KINDS OF TURNS! Sasuke is going to be leaving to save Naruto, all alone. And to make matters even worse no one but Sasuke knows that Naruto's even in danger. Also, who are these mysterious Mandarin speaking people? 为什么他们说国语？！你们不知道，可是我知道， 在这儿，所有的东西！**  
><strong>ALSO there's A LOT OF FORESHADOWING in this chapter about events to come, especially relating to the next chapter. Ahh, so much goodness. <strong>

**But the real question stands: What could possibly happen next?!**

**Sasuke: Really?**  
><strong>Me: Yep.<strong>  
><strong>Sasuke: REALLY?<strong>  
><strong>Me: Mhmm, yes. That's what it appears to be.<strong>  
><strong>Sasuke: You're the harbinger of darkness, aren't you?<strong>  
><strong>Me: Wow, hashtag rood. This was Hitoko-Sama.<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke woke up before Itachi. There was such a reluctance in his bones when he pulled himself away from his master and out of his bed. This would probably be the last time. No more cuddling, no more sex, no more love. Sasuke clutched at his chest, the beating of it making him ill. His stomach was bubbling with acid and pain. He didn't know if he could physically make himself do it. The thought of Orochimaru touching his body made him want to vomit.

But he couldn't just leave Naruto there.

Naruto, his only friend...

He got just a little too close to Sasuke. And he paid for it dearly. Thoughts of what Orochimaru and his assistant had been doing to the blond had plagued him all night. He cried softly to himself when Itachi had finally fell asleep. This was all his fault. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something even worse happened to Naruto; if they…

Sasuke leaned against the wall, too physically sick with grief to step forward. Guilt ripped apart his stomach, acid building up in his throat. He barely made it into Itachi's side bathroom. His stomach emptied itself, though, most of what came up was just acid. He hadn't really eaten much the day before. That call happened near the middle of the day, he couldn't make himself eat after that, even with Suigetsu prodding him.

To think, Sasuke had almost told him the truth. In retrospect, Sasuke was glad he didn't. Suigetsu didn't need to get further involved with all of this bullshit. He wasn't paid enough to deal with shit like this.

This was only supposed to happen in movies.

People were only supposed to be this evil in places where they couldn't make a stamp on the world.

Sasuke's hands shook with sickness and fear. He turned on the water of the shower, shaking his head repeatedly as he did so. In less than three hours, he would have to meet up with Orochimaru. He probably wouldn't be too pleased if Sasuke showed up with an ass full of cum. Though, he would have liked to leave it in there, just to irk Orochimaru. It would have been amusing, at the very least.

But as much as his heart wished to rebel, he knew that he wouldn't. Naruto's life was too important to mess this up. If he did something that got Naruto killed…

He couldn't live with himself.

Naruto was innocent. He didn't know anything, he didn't know the truth. Orochimaru kidnapping him was probably so confusing. Sasuke doubted Orochimaru told Naruto anything either. His hands shook at his sides. He would get Naruto home. He wouldn't allow this to continue a second more. There was no way he could let Naruto suffer because of something he didn't even know about.

Sasuke shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. All he needed was an address.  
>-<p>

Suigetsu was exhausted. He had been sitting outside of Itachi's house all night, waiting for Sasuke to make a move. He knew something was going on. Whether or not Sasuke said it, he knew. There was such an eerie calm about him. It made him nervous.

A taxi pulled up to the street in front of Itachi's house and Sasuke came straight out the front door, getting into the car. Suigetsu tensed in his seat, slinking down. His suspicions weren't exactly confirmed yet but this seemed strange. Suigetsu waited until they had pulled away to start up his car. He was going to follow Sasuke. He was going to figure out what was going on.

While he watched the cab in front of him, he wondered whether or not to call Kisame and give him a heads up. He decided against it. If there was nothing going on, it would make him look foolish. No, Kisame wasn't a good plan. Even if there was something going on, there would be no way Kisame would get Itachi up and ready for whatever was going on…

Suigetsu decided, he would call Madara. Skip the middle man and go straight to the source. He dialed the number in his phone, holding it up to his ear.

He stayed two car lengths behind the taxi.  
>-<p>

The location Orochimaru wanted to meet Sasuke was strange. It was in the middle of the industrial district. The buildings were all brick and steel, built up against the sky and blocking out the sun with cranes and carrier crates. Sasuke felt a shiver go up his spine as the taxi sped off behind him. He swallowed, trying to suppress the nervousness gnawing at his gut.

He walked further into the seemingly abandoned warehouse district. It wasn't quiet around; there was slamming of metal crates, the sounds of grinding and welding torches. But that wasn't coming from where he was, it was in the neighboring buildings. Orochimaru had chosen this location because it was isolated. He knew Sasuke might scream for help if he got fearful enough.

Sasuke looked back at his phone, glancing at the message again and again. Orochimaru said he would be here exactly at ten; it was nearly that time now. He breathed in slowly, forcing himself to exhale through his mouth so he could calm his nerves.

There were footfalls behind him. They were faint, almost as if someone was trying to sneak-up on him. Did Orochimaru not trust him? Sasuke whipped around, seeing someone duck into a pathway between two of the buildings. He slowly moved towards the source of the noise, heart thundering in his ears. What if Orochimaru planned on beating him until he passed out so he wouldn't know where he was being taken?

He paused in his steps, his mind suddenly overwhelmed with fear. This was a mistake. He couldn't trust Orochimaru. There was no way Orochimaru would hold up his end of the bargain. He was a fool to think he would. Sasuke let a cry die in his throat as whoever was hiding in the space between the buildings came out.

His eyes widened when Suigetsu approached him, an accusatory finger jabbed into his chest. "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

Sasuke could cry. And he almost did. He grabbed Suigetsu's arm, pulling the man forward. With his loosened footing, Sasuke swept up one of his feet, sending his body guard over his shoulder and toppling to the ground. He leapt on top of him, beating Suigetsu ferociously. Orochimaru was going to see him. He was going to see he was followed.

Sasuke's fist were raining down blows on Suigetsu, just as Madara pulled up to the lot. The oldest Uchiha sighed, getting out of his own car. He had been woke up for this. He had been woke up to break up a fight. Maybe he should just kill Suigetsu; he seemed worthless at his job. Madara got up to Sasuke, wrenching the fake Uchiha free and throwing him to the side.

"Well, well, someone's been busy." Madara remarked, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "What are you doing, Sasuke?"

"YOU!" Sasuke was about to leap onto Suigetsu again but Madara grabbed onto the raven's arms, pulling him into his chest. "YOU FUCKING RUINED EVERYTHING!"

Suigetsu got up from his place on the ground, holding onto his furiously bleeding nose. He would have two black eyes tomorrow because of this. And he didn't doubt that Sasuke crushed his nose. The way it felt, the pain that made his vision waver, it was definitely broken.

"WHOA!" Madara flung Sasuke to his other side, grabbing onto his arms and pinning him against the wall. "What the fuck are you doing? Are you doing some hood rat shit? Oh God, don't tell me you're here to score some dope…" Sasuke let tears openly come up and Madara let out a sigh, pushing his bangs out of his face. "It's okay, Sasuke. We can get you some help. It'll be fine. Just get in the car, we're leaving."

"NO!" Sasuke screeched, throwing his arms up, tearing himself away from Madara. "You don't get it! He has him!"

Madara's eyes widened, thoughts registering and clicking in his head way before he could stop them. The look on Sasuke's face, the fear in his eyes. Madara knew exactly what was going on here. He turned around to see a limo pulling through the broken chain link fence.

"Suigetsu, do you have your gun with you?" Madara asked quickly, hands twitching at his sides.

"No…I left it in the car." Suigetsu muttered. "What the fuck is going on?"

Madara grit his teeth as Orochimaru and his smug assistant stepped out of the car, a small group of men with them. He hadn't brought a weapon either, thinking that this wouldn't be complicated. He bit the inside of his cheek, eyes shining with wrath. Orochimaru may very well win this round.

The snake of a man smirked, laughing loudly as Sasuke took a few steps back. He needed to do something, say something, anything that would assure Naruto's freedom. He didn't know what to do. He was shaking so bad he thought he was going to vomit.

"Tsk, tsk, Sasuke. You broke the rules." Orochimaru's amusement for this scene knew no bounds.

"I didn't!" Sasuke pleaded, knees feeling like jelly underneath his body's weight. "You have to believe me. They followed me here. You know I would nev-"

"Shut. Up. You lose." Orochimaru snapped his fingers as his small army of men approached. They all had some form of weapon. Bats, chains, knives. So far as Madara could see, no guns. But since they were unarmed, they may have felt they didn't need them.

Madara could feel the sweat beading up on his brow. There was no way they could win this uneven fight. He was getting way too old for this shit. And of course, this was the one day he hadn't brought something to protect himself with. There was only one thing to do; he had to let Orochimaru take Sasuke without a fight.

Madara side-stepped Sasuke, moving so that the men had a clear path to him. Suigetsu stared, stunned at the scene before him. Madara was going to let this happen. Suigetsu frowned, anger bubbling up under his skin. He was supposed to be Sasuke's body guard and he wouldn't be blamed for Sasuke's getting taken by some weird guy.

Problem was Suigetsu's hand to hand wasn't as good as his marksmanship. He felt the tenseness of his back. Not to mention, he was already bleeding. It was making it difficult to see and focus on the men approaching. He was losing too much blood; worst case scenario was that he could easily pass out.

Suigetsu threw himself forward, knocking one of the men back. His grip on his knife slackened and Suigetsu wasted no time wrestling with him for it. He managed to get it and stabbed the man in the throat, looking around at the other guys. The one, swinging and moving with his chain, seemed to come to life at the sight of his comrade's blood. He rushed Suigetsu, chain swinging and clanging against the walls and concrete as he attempted to strike Suigetsu down. He managed to avoid the first few attacks before the blood loss really started to take its toll. He staggered, tripping up on his own legs as he fumbled to avoid the chain. It struck him hard against the cheek, knocking him off balance.

The one with the bat ran up and delivered the finishing blow, smacking Suigetsu hard in the head. The sound of skull bouncing off the aluminum made Sasuke shiver. He watched in slow agony as Suigetsu fell to the ground, twitching, but otherwise unmoving, not making a single sound.

Madara stood in front of Sasuke then, holding the smaller raven behind his back as he glared down the remaining men. There was definitely no way he could fight them off. But he could give Sasuke time to run.

"Get out of here." He looked back at the cowering boy behind him; he was shaking, frightened of what was happening. It pained Madara to think of what would happen to Sasuke if he went with Orochimaru. He needed to keep Sasuke safe. He wouldn't let Orochimaru have him. Not again. He would never let anyone take Sasuke.

Orochimaru, getting bored of the scene, pulled a gun out of his car, aiming it at Madara. "Oh, be my guest. Go ahead, let Sasuke run. We'll see how far he gets when I put a bullet in his leg."

Sasuke gripped the back of Madara's shirt, pulling the material closer to himself. "Tell Itachi that I love him and that I'm sorry…"

Madara could move fast enough to stop Sasuke from getting away from him. "Sasuke! Don't!"

He ran to the car, stepping right in front of Orochimaru's gun, making the man lower it. He pulled Orochimaru's head down and kissed him hard on the lips. "Let's go, I'm done running."

Orochimaru seemed satisfied with the answer and opened the door for Sasuke. The raven hesitated. "Get in."

"Don't do it, Sasuke! He's lying to you! He won't let Naruto go now!" Madara called, his voice booming with anger. "Don't you hurt them! They have nothing to do with this!" Orochimaru looked like he was about to laugh, but just raised his gun again.

Sasuke looked back at Madara. "Don't shoot him, Orochimaru. Please, don't shoot Madara. You've got me, you've won, right?" His hands were gripping the front of Orochimaru's shirt, crushing the fabric between his fingers. The snake-like man sighed, tossing the gun into the car and getting in, Sasuke followed behind him.

Kabuto was still standing outside of the car. He walked to the driver's side door, opening it and sliding in. Before he shut the door he called out. "Don't let him follow."

Madara was too stunned with what he was seeing to block the bat. Pain burst across his temple, spotting his vision as he fell forward onto his hands and knees. Orochimaru may have won this battle, but he by no means had won the war.

Madara's vision faded.  
>-<p>

Itachi woke up with a start, his phone ringing loudly for the past few seconds. Reluctantly, he got up, grabbing the phone from his side table. He didn't bother to check the caller ID, considering he got the call so early, he figured it was one of his business associates. He held the phone to his ear. "Uchiha Itachi speaking."

"_Hello, good morning Mr. Uchiha, I apologize for calling so early." _

Itachi rubbed the space between his eyes. He didn't recognize this voice at all. If this was one of his business associates, it must have been one of the ones he hadn't met in person. "It's quite alright, just, what exactly is your business? It must be urgent."

"_Mr. Uchiha are you sitting down?" _

Itachi was taken aback by that comment, looking around the room, a little bewildered at the question. He really didn't need this strangeness first thing in the morning. His mind briefly wandered to Sasuke, but he figured the boy was already out and about. Maybe Naruto had finally decided to show up. "Yes, I'm sitting down, what exactly are you preparing me for?"

"_I'm with the Konoha City Police Department and this morning we found the body of one of your family members; at least we believe he is a member of your family. We've already tried to get in contact with your uncle, Uchiha Madara, but he did not answer the phone. We need you to come in and give a positive ID." _

Itachi felt his heart freezing up in his chest. Was this it? The call he had been waiting for? Were his twenty years of suffering finally to be put to rest? Had they finally found Sasuke's body?

"_Mr. Uchiha? Mr. Uchiha, are you still there?" _

Itachi snapped back into reality, his heart still feeling sunk in his chest. "Y-yes, I'm still here. Um, I know you need me to identify the body but do you have an idea about WHO it is supposed to be?"

"_Oh, yes, of course. I'm sorry, we believe the body to be…" _Itachi could hear the flipping of papers as the man on the line kept him waiting. _"Ah here it is, yes, we believe it's your father, Uchiha Fugaku." _

"What?!" Itachi felt a guilty stream of relief flood into him, only to making his heart plummet right back into ice. "My Father…is dead?!"

"_That's what we need you to come down and confirm. We're pretty sure it's him, but we don't want to want to pull out such an official DNA test for him. His face is mostly intact." _

"Excuse me? Did you say 'mostly'?"

"_Mr. Uchiha, time really is of the essence, can we expect your visit?" _

"Yes, I'll come down right now. Let me get ready and I'll be there as soon as I can, traffic permitting…"

"_Of course, Mr. Uchiha. Drive safely." _

Itachi set his phone down, shock setting up in his bones. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. His father, after twenty-five long years, was finally dead. Itachi let the relief wash over him. Finally, he didn't have to have it thrown in his face anymore. Finally, he was free of his father's theories and accusations. It was like the world's weight fell off his chest and rolled away. His freedom had finally come for him.  
>-<p>

Madara woke up, head feeling like a ton of bricks. That guy with that bat really knew how to hit for home plate. Slowly, the Uchiha got on his knees, his vision blackening with every small movement. He may have a concussion, but right now, it didn't matter. He needed to get Sasuke back. He couldn't let Itachi know. His nephew was viable to have a heart attack if he knew about what had happened to Sasuke.

For now, Madara knew, he would have to keep it secret. Make up some bullshit story to go along with it. His top priority now was finding Sasuke. He looked over to see Suigetsu, unmoving. He wondered if the kid was still alive.

Madara pushed his fingers against Suigetsu's neck. The pulse was faint, but it was definitely there. The kid managed to pull through and not bleed to death. Madara knew he had to be mindful of Suigetsu's head injury but time was of the essence now. He had no idea where Orochimaru had taken Sasuke and it would take a couple hours for him to figure it out. He sincerely hoped that Sasuke had brought his phone with him and was smart enough to hide it where Orochimaru wouldn't take it away from him. But he doubted it. It was probably the first thing Orochimaru asked for, if he was worth his salt as a kidnapper.

The Uchiha grasped onto Suigetsu, picking him up with as much gentleness as he could muster. While he was in this shit-hole part of the city, Madara decided it would be easier for Kisame to deal with this little problem while he solved the mystery of Sasuke's location.

Though, he would need someone to help. Someone trustworthy and reliable. Someone who wouldn't question Madara's motives and have something to lose in all this.

Madara frowned. There was really only one person he could think of, and he really didn't like it. But right now, beggars couldn't be choosers.  
>-<p>

Madara's fist beat heavily against the door. He waited, impatiently on the front stoop, bouncing his weight between his two feet as the clicking of the deadlock could be heard. He was looking down at his nails when Kushina finally opened the door.

"Madara? What are you doing here?" Her voice was gruff with annoyance. Madara raised an eyebrow.

"Lovely to see you, as always, Kushina, my dearest. However, I need to speak with your son. Your taller, more annoying son. Is Kyuubi here or not?"

Kushina opened the door more, her wild red hair swaying with her as she did so. She blocked up the sliver of the door frame she was occupying, her eyes burning with anger. "Excuse me, Madara, I'm pretty sure I speak for Kyuubi when I say that he will not see you."

"Fair enough." Madara used his weight and pushed through Kushina, kicking off his shoes and heading up the stairs to Kyuubi's room. He knew this pathway very well. It almost bothered him. Minato watched up the stairs after Madara, standing next to his wife who looked down right murderous.

Madara didn't bother knocking. Kyuubi was sitting at his computer, typing quickly, headphones in his ears. The Uchiha waltzed up to the red headed man, tilting his weight back in the chair. Kyuubi shrieked with surprise, especially when he looked up to see Madara. He pulled the headphones out, standing up abruptly. "What are you doing in my house?! Why are you in my room?"

"To fuck you, why else?" Madara grabbed onto Kyuubi's wrist, pulling him towards the door. "Listen, Kyuubi, I know what's happened to Naruto."

"YOU DO?!" He slapped his hand over Kyuubi's large mouth, effectively silencing him.

"Yes, I do. But I'm going to need your help. Kyuubi, look at me. I'm trusting you. If you come with me now, I'll tell you everything that's going on."

He took his hand off Kyuubi's mouth as the red head's parents finally decided they had done enough waiting. They both looked at Madara, peevishly. Madara looked at Kyuubi, walking past both Minato and Kushina, back down the stairs towards the door. Kyuubi looked between his parents and the door. Sighing, he pushed past them as well, following as Madara walked out the door.

"My parents are going to KILL me when we get back."

"I doubt it, you'll be bring Naruto home. They can't kill you then." Madara said as he unlocked his car. He swung into the driver's side door, slamming it shut behind him. "I'm just hoping your parents won't tell on us to Itachi…" Kyuubi stood outside the passenger door, looking a little hopeful but frightened. "What are you doing? Get in. We need to hurry."

"Madara, how do I know you're telling me the truth?"

"Kyuubi, get in. I promise, I won't lie to you about this. I'm trusting YOU over Itachi. Doesn't that say anything to you about this situation?"

Kyuubi slid into the passenger side, shutting the door softly behind him. He let out a huge sigh, pushing his hair back. "Tell me the truth, Madara…It's really bad, isn't it?" Madara reached over, grabbing onto Kyuubi's hand. He brought it to his mouth, kissing every knuckle. Kyuubi's eyes widened. Madara did that when they were dating; he did it to calm him down. "Oh God, it's worse than I thought." The red head pulled his hand back, holding it closely to his chest. "Madara, don't lie to me…Is Naruto…Dead?"

Madara turned away from Kyuubi for a moment, almost thinking through the most delicate answer he could. "No, to my knowledge, he's still alive. But I don't think we have enough time to wonder about 'what if's. Sasuke and Naruto have really gotten themselves into a pickle this time."

"What the fuck is happening, Madara?"

The Uchiha sat, silently contemplating the question. "Will you keep it a secret if I tell you?"

"This goes deep, huh? I'm going to see you, as you really are during this, aren't I?" Kyuubi's words were spoken nearly above a whisper. Madara leaned over, cupping Kyuubi's face very gently between his fingers. Madara's hand was just as cool and soft as he remembered. He remembered them all over his body and got shivers.

Madara noticed the frightened yet curious look in Kyuubi's eye. He had such beautiful eyes; they were the same color as his brother's, maybe a little lighter blue. He rubbed his thumb against Kyuubi's soft lips, parting them slightly. Madara pulled back suddenly, heat threatening to burst up from under his cheeks. He looked away from Kyuubi, who openly let the warmth into his face.

"We can't waste any more time." Madara started the car, pulling out of Kyuubi's driveway. He started speeding off into the distance, the silence between the Uchiha and the red head nearly tangible.

"Look…"

"Listen…"

They both said those words at the same time, becoming more and more awkward as time passed between them. Kyuubi, shrinking a little in the seat next to Madara took a few sneaking glances at the older Uchiha. He pushed some of the hairs which had been tickling his face, past his ear. "Go ahead." Madara nodded his thanks.

"I know these past few months have been…Weird." Madara began, hand tightening on the wheel. Kyuubi watched the pale skin contract, tightening over his bones. "But I feel as though I need to clear the air between us." Kyuubi seemed surprised with Madara. It was rare that Madara even conceded to anything, let alone admitting things about his own feelings.

The red head shook his head slightly. "I guess I should also take this time to apologize."

Madara's face softened. "No, you don't need to. You may be a brat when you want to be, but I'm the one who made you like that."

Kyuubi shrugged. "Not really, I was a brat before this and I'll be a brat after. It's just part of who I am. I've always been unbearably stubborn. It's kinda how our relationship got messed up, isn't it? I asked too much and wouldn't settle for anything less." The red head looked over at Madara, whose hands were twitching on the wheel. Kyuubi put his hand on top of Madara, causing it to calm and smooth against the wheel.

"No, no. You can't blame yourself for our relationship failing, is that really what you've thought this entire time? That's not it at all." Kyuubi had never seen Madara look so sincere before. It almost didn't suit him. He was used to stern, stoic Madara. The man who could make an entire room shiver with just a look. "Our relationship failed because I was selfish. That's all it was. I was controlling and when you tried to become a more equal part of our relationship, I got scared and just…Do what I always do. I hurt you to keep you away."

"Do you still love me?"

Madara sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. He really should have seen that one coming. He mentally cursed himself; he was getting distracted from the goal. Madara hated that even now, after all that had happened, Kyuubi still caught him off-guard. "You really should just forget about me, Kyuubi. Even if you spent the rest of your life trying, you'd never be able to fix me. I have a lot of demons and I don't want to get you even more involved. Your father would never forgive me. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"I think it's a little late for that."

"Well, you know what I mean. I've never been very good at…this." Madara shook his hand a little as if to signify the entire situation.

Kyuubi turned away, looking out the window and away from Madara. His hand was cool from where it had rested on Madara's. The red head felt pain blossoming in his chest but it also felt good. After all this time, Madara had finally let him into his head. It took years of prodding, questioning, tantrums, and fits. But he finally could hear Madara's thoughts clearly.

"It didn't mean anything."

Kyuubi and Madara shared a look. It made the red head laugh. "I know that. Naruto even told me that he aggressed you."

"He actually admitted that to you? I'm surprised." Madara said as he flicked on his turn signal. "To be fair, I aggressed right back. I shouldn't have but, well, we were both pretty lit. My inhibition filter was just…" Madara was making a scrunched face, shaking his head. "When I sobered up, I realized the only reason he would have done such a thing is probably because Sasuke and I look alike enough for drunk-vision to take over."

"I'm not mad."

Madara looked over at Kyuubi, eyebrows raised. "Liar."

"No, I'm really not mad."

"Double liar. You don't have to act all mature about it, Kyuubi. It doesn't suit you. I know you were furious. I even know why you were furious."

"Oh, really? Why was I so furious?"

"You were jealous."

Kyuubi made a face. "Me? Uzumaki Kyuubi, jealous? The most mature person in the world? I don't think so."

Madara made a face right back, surprised to see that Kyuubi was smiling, mischievously like he always did. This whole situation made Madara feel weird. There was no way he was going to get back together with Kyuubi. The ship had already sank, whether or not Kyuubi wanted to move on. But he really needed to repair the wounds he had made.

They came up to a stop light, making Madara's hands twitch on the wheel with annoyance. The red head watched as the Uchiha's nails dug into the steering wheel, displaying everything with just a simple gesture. Kyuubi felt his heart thumping in his ears as he leaned over; his fingers turning Madara's face towards him. Their lips met briefly. He had forgotten just how soft Kyuubi's lips were. Just how sweet the full press of his mouth could be.

His hand curled around the base of Kyuubi's neck, locking his head in place as his tongue pressed into the territory he had explored time and time again. It was always like this. They'd fight, they wouldn't talk, they'd finally talk, and then they'd kiss, muttering one more time. Experience told Madara that this was dangerous territory, like the last time, and the time before it.

Madara wanted to break this cycle, be done with this for good, but those lips tasted like caramel, succulent and sweet.

All these years, what Madara missed the most, was someone who loved him, unconditionally. His brother had been that man, before his tragedy. And now, he had no one. He was unfixable. He hurt everyone he touched. He was selfish and too rough.

A horn blared behind them and Madara pushed on the gas, frowning about how caught up he had got in the moment. Kyuubi was a pushy brat, but Madara knew he let Kyuubi get away with it.

"Consider that my gratitude for what you're doing for me." The red head sat back in his chair, reclining it as he folded his arms across his chest. "I know you don't have to help Naruto and have absolutely no obligation to do so."

"I have just as much to lose here as you do." Madara glanced over at the red head, who looked up from his slouched position, eyes narrowed. The Uchiha let out a sigh. "I'll start from the beginning."  
>-<p>

"He did what?" Itachi didn't have enough hours in the day to deal with his life. Everything just kept stacking up higher and higher, adding more and more pressure as he walked through his day. He nearly face-palmed, waiting in the coroner's office in Konoha. Itachi didn't need to deal with his father's apparent death and his uncle's insatiable need to mess with Kyuubi.

He was shaking his head, pushing the stray locks of hair he had in his face away from his eyes. Itachi couldn't believe that Kyuubi had gone somewhere with Madara. After all that had happened, Kyuubi was still weak. And what's even worse, Minato seemed so worried. Minato had practically been a father to him after Madara and his own father had failed to be more comforting than a lump of Jell-O. He hated hearing Minato's worried tone and fret.

"Listen, Minato, calm down." Itachi's palm flexed open on his free hand. "I'll call Kyuubi. But right now, I have a lot on my plate. I'm down in Konoha…They think my father's dead…"

Minato was silent on the other line, just long enough for Itachi to gather his thoughts. As soon as this was over, he would call Kyuubi and then the moment Kyuubi didn't pick up, he'd definitely call Madara. Let them know he knew exactly what was going on.

"Mr. Uchiha the body is ready for you." He stood up from his spot and went to where the man was calling to him.

"I promise, I'll call Kyuubi soon. They're ready for me so I have to go."

Itachi hung up the phone as he got to the coroner's bay. The man had him sign a few releases and they continued through to the back. Itachi heart was thundering in his chest. They were pretty sure it was his father, but they could be mistaken. Would his life really be better if his father was gone? It would be easier, sure. Less stressful? Definitely. But something in his heart was sinking. He was practically all that was left of his nuclear family. Him and Madara. They were the only ones to survive the Uchiha family's seemingly unending curse.

The man opened a draw, cold air rushing out as he slid it open. The coroner removed the sheet from the top half of the body. His face was badly burnt on one side, blackened to a char. The rest of the body wasn't in particularly good shape either, looking like it received most of the damage.

But it was clear. There was no mistaking it. That man on the slab was definitely his father. Itachi and the coroner exchanged a glance and Itachi nodded. The body was covered back up.  
>-<p>

The overwhelming silence in the limo made sweat gather at the back of Sasuke's neck. He was sitting across from Orochimaru, just staring at him, almost unbelieving of the stupid situation he had gotten himself into.

All of this because he and Naruto were in the tabloids together. That's what it really boiled down to. His hands were shaking as Orochimaru looked up from the window, smirking at the raven the entire time. Sasuke's mouth seemed to be glued shut, not speaking a single word since he sat down in the limo.

Orochimaru could tell the boy was frightened and he really did have a reason to feel like that. His insolence wouldn't be taken lightly. Madara and another man had been at the drop zone. Orochimaru had just been lucky enough that Madara didn't seem to be armed; he didn't doubt Madara would have taken a shot at him. He was furious. But then again, no one likes to be outdone.

He doubted that Madara even saw this coming. The Uchiha had a lot of bark and bite but no foresight it seemed. He messed with Orochimaru's livelihood and that wasn't something he was going to let Madara get away with. And, since he couldn't have Itachi, the Uchiha Prince of the company; he would go and take Itachi's princess.

There was a sick hope in Orochimaru's old heart that Itachi would cry for his loss. Sasuke obviously meant a great deal to the younger Uchiha. Madara had seemed undeniably furious when Orochimaru had finally played his hand in this way. But Orochimaru knew, obviously better than Itachi and Madara ever could, never, ever, get attached to something that can be lost.

Sasuke's back tensed slightly when he heard Orochimaru snickering to himself. "Well, seems like we've finally made it. Finally together, once again."

Sasuke nodded, not wanting to make Orochimaru mad now, after all this time. There was still a chance that he could manipulate the man into letting Naruto go. He hoped, prayed, and cursed that there was a way Orochimaru would just let the blond be free. He would do anything that Orochimaru wanted him to do. That's why he was here, wasn't it? To prove that he would do anything?

The raven swallowed, nervously parting his lips to speak. "Orochimaru…I know things didn't go exactly how we planned bu-"

"You know, I was really going to let Naruto go. But, someone, was unreliable." Orochimaru's glance was filled with venom making Sasuke shiver softly.

Orochimaru's stance and eyes took a different turn. The tingling of Orochimaru's belt sent shivers of revulsion down Sasuke's spine as he watched the snake of a man open up the front of his pants. "However, if a certain someone can satisfy me, I'll consider letting them see Naruto as soon as we get there. Would you like that?"

"Yes…"

"Then come here. We'll save the main event for later, I just want a taste of what Itachi has taught you…" Sasuke forced himself to kneel in front of Orochimaru, tugging at the fabric with unsteady fingers. "Don't think I didn't notice that tongue stud you have, make sure to put it to good use."

He had failed.

He lost Naruto.

And he lost himself.  
>-<p>

**And that's where I'm ending it. So much shit is going down in this chapter and I bet we're all like AHHHHHHHHH. And what's even worse? Yet another cliffy. I know. I'm the worst. But I love you guys. I swear, I hurt you, because I care. **

**Naruto: …  
>Sasuke: …<br>Me: You two are never going to talk to me again, are you?  
>Sasuke: What is this? THIS GARBAGE?! –throws my laptop- Are you satisfied with yourself?<br>Me: well, yeah. I managed to finish this update in like two days. I did a good job.  
>Naruto: She's not getting it. We're going to have to put her down.<br>Me: WELL THIS WAS HITOKO-SAMA! I'M GOING TO RUN AWAY NOW!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay so I've made a lot of promises in this chapter because believe it or not, this fic is actually going to end soon. We're gunna get a lot of answers to very important questions, not to mention, very important ending plot points. Things are finally going to clear up for everyone. So I hope you guys enjoy. Regular POV**

**So run like hell,  
>Sleep with one eye open,<br>I can't forgive or forget you  
>We'll tell everyone the damage done,<br>Deep down you can't stop me  
>You can't stop me now.<br>I'll be there just to watch you fall,  
>So don't push me, I've got nothing to lose<strong>**.**

"**I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made of?" A Day to Remember****  
>-<strong>

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. He had already passed the point of no return. His mouth was sour with what he had done for Orochimaru, just so he could have the whispered promise of seeing Naruto upon his arrival at this…Hell. He had tried not to vomit afterwards but it was taking all of his focus not to empty his stomach contents. Sasuke had done it so many times for Itachi, but this time, it felt wrong. Like he swallowed a brick, which was slowly dissolving in his stomach and made him ache to be free of it. But he couldn't offend Orochimaru now. Not after this. He wouldn't let this string of disappointments continue. He had let Naruto's freedom slip through his fingers. Sasuke had been careless; he really should have known Suigetsu had sensed something was wrong. He mentally cursed him but also wondered if he was okay.

Orochimaru had a hard grip on his arm, like he thought Sasuke was stupid enough to run. He had no idea where they were. He had been too preoccupied with his ordeal to pay attention to the scenery. It was difficult to focus when choking down a dick. He had to fight the urge to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand around Orochimaru too. He just felt so sick and deeply disgusted with himself at what he had already done. He hadn't even been with Orochimaru for five minutes before he had to violate his sense of self.

Sasuke knew, deep down, he should have seen Danzo before coming here. If he had asked for drugs, it would make this so much easier. He wouldn't have to think about it. He wouldn't have to think about all the shit he was going to have to do. He wouldn't even know who he was anymore; not that he really did know in the first place. This was what he had been created for, right? To be a blank slate? To be the perfect doll. Sasuke bit the inside of his lip to keep himself from openly sobbing. He didn't doubt Orochimaru would be disgusted with his sudden outburst of emotion. He needed to be outwardly cold, inwardly dead. It was the only way he'd survive.

Kabuto pulled out a ring of keys, his glasses shining in the dim light of whatever hellhole Orochimaru had brought them too. The door looked heavy; reinforced with a lot of metal. Whatever was in this room, they did not want it getting out. Orochimaru turned for a moment. The thugs that had been with him at the meeting were loudly coming through the hallways, obviously finding their way back quickly. Sasuke tensed. Orochimaru chuckled.

They came towards Orochimaru, speaking some language Sasuke didn't understand. But his brain was foggy with the fear he kept trying to swallow. Even if he did know it, he doubted he could process it.

"_Wǒmen de qián zài nǎlǐ?"__(Where's our money?)_

Orochimaru sneered at them; especially the one in the front making the demands. He shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling out a thick stack of bills. He slapped them into the demanding one's hand.

"_Nǐmen kěyǐ qù" (You can go.) _

Orochimaru's voice sounded strange to Sasuke when he said this to them. He had no idea what they were saying, no idea what kind of deal was happening between them. But as soon as the bills changed hands, the thugs turned, leaving without a glance of acknowledgement.

Sasuke felt relief in his chest. At least he wouldn't have to worry about them as well as Orochimaru. Just having the one was bad enough for him. The grip he had on Sasuke's arm hadn't slackened; he pulled the raven roughly when the heavy metal door opened.

The room itself was bigger on the inside. But it was completely barren and in the dark, Sasuke could feel how intimidating it was. His heart started to beat louder. If they were showing him this room, this must be where Naruto was. He wanted to rush inside blindly but Orochimaru still had a firm grip on his arm.

The whimpering was heard immediately. Sasuke knew that voice by now; he could hear the pain in it, he could hear the misery. It made something inside him break. All the happiness he had to see Naruto, died within him as Kabuto switched on a light. There was actually less blood than he had expected, but still didn't lessen the shock any. He could hear the tinkling of metal on metal, meaning Naruto was chained to the bed he was lying on. Sasuke couldn't tell right away because of the obnoxiously white, stained sheet over the blond's body. But Sasuke knew one thing for sure; if he hadn't heard the whimpers, he would have thought Naruto was dead.

Aside from the bed, there was practically nothing in the room. A small table lined the wall, looking too cold and surgical to be comforting. Sasuke had to look away, feeling too much acid bubbling in his gut when he noticed that the table was covered in sex toy and fetish items. It made him want to run. But he knew he wouldn't get far.

The shuffling of the sheet caught Sasuke's attention. Orochimaru let go of Sasuke's arm as he began to struggle to get free of his grip. The raven's eyes were wide as he walked slowly towards the blond who seemed to be cowering, not looking towards them. Sasuke's weight made the bed shift towards him, making Naruto's soft whimpering increase in volume. The raven wanted to say something, anything to let Naruto know it was him and not his captors but the words were caught in throat, sticky and thick like he swallowed a spoonful of molasses.

His head reached out, grabbing onto the sheet, pulling it back. Naruto's body was shaking as Sasuke's finger bumped against his skin. Naruto finally turned his head towards him and blue eyes were watery with tears. The collar on his neck looked tight, limiting the movements of his neck.

"Naruto…" The raven's voice shook as he whispered it. The blond couldn't kill the sobs in this throat as he practically threw himself onto Sasuke.

"Sasuke…Sasuke…" His voice was pleading, sounding rough and hoarse from crying. He couldn't hold back the tears; they fell onto Sasuke's shirt, soaking it with his sorrow. "You shouldn't have come." He was muttering it barely audible and Sasuke felt his heart sink lower into his stomach, sickness and anger pulsing through his veins. He gripped Naruto's body, feeling how cold and bruised it was. The blond shuddered away from some of his touches, making Sasuke more and more angry by the second.

Not even Danzo was this low. And he had seen the back room for the pets who were uncooperative. He would sedate them, tie them up, but he made sure they were never fully aware for their own personal tortures; even Danzo had that slight blip of mercy.

But Orochimaru had none. Sasuke began to wonder if he even had a soul. No person should be able to do this to someone. Naruto had been completely innocent in all this and Orochimaru had beat and…

Sasuke couldn't even think the word. He couldn't even imagine it. The thought of someone violating Naruto made sickness permeate the marrow of his bones. Fury gripped him first as he pulled back from Naruto, standing in front of the blond defensively as he stared back at Orochimaru and Kabuto. His jaw was locked and his body was shaking, the rage pulling him into a frenzy.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" The crescents of his nails were biting into his palms with how hard he was clenching his fists. "HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! YOU HAVE NO RIGH-"

"SHUT UP, WHORE." Orochimaru roared back, causing both Sasuke and Naruto to twitch. Sasuke wouldn't let the fear show in his face. "You wouldn't know, would you? Madara keeps you pretty dumb, doesn't he? I never planned on giving Naruto back. Your _families_ have sealed your own fates."

Sweat beaded at the bottom of Sasuke's hair, slowly dripping down his neck as Orochimaru walked further into the room. Kabuto slammed the door shut, causing Naruto to let out a quiet whine as he curled up on the bed.

"I bet you haven't heard a word about it, have you? How Madara ruined my business with a virus and then calmly merged with Naruto's father's company? They took my livelihood away from me…" Orochimaru's voice was suddenly much more quiet, despite the fact that it still echoed through the room. Sasuke suppressed a shudder. "So, I've decided, I'll take their _heirs_ away from them."  
>-<p>

"So that means…" Kyuubi started, holding his forehead with his hands. He was staring at Madara, who just kept nodding.

"Yep…" Madara interrupted. He shared a brief look with Kyuubi, reaffirming whatever thought he had. He turned onto the free exit which would lead them to downtown. It was nearly evening by the time everything had settled and they had been driving for about an hour now. Madara found it was easier to tell Kyuubi what was happening than he originally believed.

"Wow…" The red head laid back in his seat, still holding his head like it was about to explode. Madara tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Why not tell Fugaku then?"

The Uchiha laughed. "You're kidding, right? That man would have only exacerbated things. If he was lurking around, Itachi's mental state could have been up for grabs. Who knows what kind of damage Fugaku would have done; what he might have said. It was better to keep it buried. He doesn't think highly of me anyway, why not keep this off his list?"

"Jesus fucking Christ. I never thought it was this deep…" Kyuubi set his hands down at his sides. "Okay so all that aside, what does Naruto have to do with this? I understand you played a major role in ruining Orochimaru but…Did my dad do something too?"

Madara took a deep breath, slowly exhaling it. "That's not Minato's game." He stopped at a red light, looking over at Kyuubi. "This is far from his fault. If anything, all the blame can be placed on me. I was the one who gave Orochimaru that bug. But since he's trying to hurt my family, the most logical way to do it is to hurt Sasuke, put him in a vulnerable position so he cannot refuse any proposition. And how would he do that? Hurt Naruto. Sasuke would immediately feel guilty for anything that happened to him and he would try to save him. It is foolish but humans always act too altruistic when people they care about are in danger. Sasuke is no exception; he probably feels completely responsible for Naruto's situation."

Kyuubi was silent for a moment, biting his bottom lip. Madara took a small glance at the red head, but he was looking at the window, watching the blur of neon lights and street lamps as the sun started to set behind the buildings. He seemed lost, as though his mind was trying to make sense of it all, but there was really no way to completely understand why people did the things they did. Humans barely understood how their own bodies worked, understanding something as complicated as the mind was something that seemed truly unattainable.

The red head breathed out. "Does Itachi know?"

"At the moment, no. He doesn't know Sasuke has disappeared. I couldn't track Sasuke's phone, meaning it was destroyed. If I let Itachi know that…I don't know what kind of breakdown he would have. For right now, this is for the best." Madara sighed, shaking his head. "I was going to give him a line of bullshit later but Sasuke will end up telling him the truth. He's very fragile right now."

"That's not what I meant." Kyuubi wasn't looking out the passenger window anymore, his eyes were forward, watching the road before them.

"Oh." Madara replied softly, picking up on the context. "Of course he knows. He was there after all, he picked Sasuke out."

"I'd say that's good, but it's really not, is it Madara?"

"Hn."

Kyuubi twitched suddenly and pulled out his phone, looking down at the caller ID. His eyes widened as he gave a panicked look. "Itachi is calling!"

Madara scrunched his nose. "Just don't answer."

"My parents must have called him…"

"Why are you whispering? It's not like he can hear you."

"I'm panicking! Are you stupid?!"

"Are you?"

The loud vibrating suddenly stopped and both of them let out identical sighs of relief… Until Madara's own phone started to ring. It cut through the soft music playing on the radio since it had been linked with the car's bluetooth. Kyuubi's face drained and the older Uchiha rubbed his temple. "Don't say anything, not a single word. I got this." Madara pressed his thumb into the button which answered his phone from his steering wheel. "Yeah?"

"_Uncle, where are you right now?" _

"Little busy right now, Itachi. Do you need something? I can stop by later when I'm finished, if you want."

"_Fugaku is dead." _

Kyuubi had to hold a hand over his mouth to suppress the shocked gasp which threatened to escape. The red head took a peek at Madara, whose face was still as calm and as stoic as it was before he answered the call. "I know, Itachi. I received a call this morning but had to let it go to voicemail."

"_Just like you to be this callous about your own brother." _

Madara scoffed, flicking on his blinker. "Itachi, you know better than anyone else that Fugaku and I shared the water of the womb, not the blood of kinsmen. He would react just the same if he received the news of my passing. Hell, he may have even thrown a party."

"_I suppose." _Itachi's voice sounded neutral, drained even. He had probably had a very long day dealing with the police. Madara was only a little glad that he had gotten smashed over the head with a bat and avoided that entire mess. _"Oh and Uncle?"_

"Yes, love?"

"_You can tell Kyuubi he can speak. Minato already called me." _

"I can't fucking believe your father fucking died!" Kyuubi blurted loudly. Madara stared, a deadly, angry stare, but then just shook his head. Kyuubi smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. There was no way the red head would have been able to keep that inside for much longer. "Do they know what happened?"

"_Car crash apparently." _

"Car crash?" Madara sounded incredulous, shaking his head with a look of almost disbelief on his face. "That sounds messy. Did you have to identify, baby-pie?"

"_Don't call me that."_ Itachi's voice held no real threat to it. He sighed softly, probably sitting in his own car when he made the call _"And yes, he's was burnt up pretty badly." _

"Oh my God…" Kyuubi muttered. "Itachi, I know you and your father didn't get along but you have my condolences."

"_Thank you, Kyuubi. But onto more interesting matters. What the hell are you two doing?"_

Madara and Kyuubi shared a glance. Neither of them had exactly came up with a lie yet about what they were actually doing and the red head looked like he was about to spill it when Madara cut him off, slapping a hand over his mouth. "You know how Naruto has been MIA for the past couple days? Apparently he had some kind of breakdown. Sasuke's with him now. And I only thought it fair that I bring Kyuubi along. Obviously some issues need to be resolved."

"_And you couldn't tell Minato and Kushina this…Because?" _

Madara let out a short laugh. "Because, Naruto doesn't need his entire family on for this ride. Listen, for now we're keeping this under wraps. When Kyuubi comes back with Naruto, obviously Minato and Kushina will calm down."

"_Hn. They wouldn't be freaking out at all if you told the truth." _

"The truth is overrated. Why not make them sweat a little?" Madara's voice was laced with amusement. "But if this is everything you called about, we really need to go. Everything will be normal again, just give me a little time."

"_Sure..."_

Madara hung up the phone by pushing another button on the steering while. He let out a long sigh as he did so. Kyuubi glanced over at Madara, rubbing his arm as he continued to stare at the Uchiha next to him. The older pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, the white paper crinkling as he shoved it between his lips.

"Is it okay to lie to Itachi about this?" Madara pulled out his lighter, bringing it to life with a simple movement of his thumb. He shrugged.

"What else am I supposed to do? If I could handle this on my own, I wouldn't have involved you either."

"Why did you involve me?"

Madara laughed. "Because you have something to lose here too; I can trust you. Besides, you know your way around a bat."

It was Kyuubi's turn to laugh. "Don't play with me. I know you carry a gun."

"Sometimes guns aren't exactly ideal. I want them to suffer." Kyuubi shivered at the calmness of Madara's voice. They locked eyes for a brief moment. "And if you think for a second that you disagree with me, think about it. If they hurt Naruto, you'll be beyond furious and then beating them to death with a bat will sound…Quite nice."

"What if I can't…"

"Don't worry, Kyuubi." Madara said quickly. "That's what the gun is for. Your hair is already crimson; I won't let it stain your hands too."

Kyuubi remained silent for the rest of the trip into downtown, feeling more and more uneasy as they passed through the business and international districts. The red head knew they were heading into the darker, more ghetto end of the city limits. Madara had a plan about where to start looking but Kyuubi didn't know a word of it. And now, he was a little too nervous to ask. He had always known that Madara was a dangerous man, but he had never really seen it in full swing before. He had never been one someone should mess with.

Orochimaru would learn that tonight.

They stopped finally and Madara got out, throwing his cigarette butt to the ground and stomping it. Kyuubi pushed himself out of the passenger seat when Madara made a motion for the red head to follow him. He swallowed a lump in his throat as Madara approached what looked like a wall. In dark, he didn't even see the door. After a few seconds of them standing there, the door was opened. Kyuubi was nearly assaulted by how thick the air was with smoke; he let out a soft cough. He turned his head and watched as older men indulged themselves in the more carnal of pleasures, hands and mouths trying to persuade younger, more beautiful men into their laps, and ultimately into their beds. Dead eyes watched Kyuubi as he followed Madara. He picked up the pace, clinging to Madara like glue.

"Are you frightened?" Madara asked quietly. Kyuubi felt Madara's fingers press against his hand, gently stroking the back of his palm.

"…No."

"Listen, I need you to put on a strong face for what we're about to do." Kyuubi swallowed again.

He took a deep breath, letting it out through his nose and Madara looked over at the red head's face. He had relaxed the muscles, making his usually expressive countenance severe, stoic, and somewhat sinister. Kyuubi was actually quite large, even for a man. And his wild red hair made him even more intimidating. Madara himself could drive fear into the hearts of many men but with another man as large and foreboding as Kyuubi, Danzo may be more easily persuaded.

"Yeah, exactly like that." Madara said, giving Kyuubi a small thumbs up.

Madara knocked twice before opening a door. Kyuubi suppressed the look of shock on his face when he saw one of Naruto's friends in the room with an older man. Kyuubi's nose crinkled. He hadn't much liked Sai anyway but this almost seemed like overkill. He was kneeling between the older man's legs, wiping his mouth. He was looking away from the door and Kyuubi couldn't help but steal a glance at Madara's face. He looked disgusted but simply sighed. "Sorry to interrupt." He muttered, slight amusement coming into his tone.

"What do you want now, Madara?" He man replied in a gruff voice. "I'm busy."

"I can see that, Danzo." Madara was smirking. "But I'm here on business."

He moved quicker than Kyuubi thought possible, grabbing Sai from between Danzo's legs. Madara slammed him against the wall, making the older man stand up, anger pulsing through his expression. "Don't you dare rough up my merchandise."

Danzo grabbed the back of Madara's jacket but the Uchiha just shrugged out of it, showing off the gun on his hip. Sai looked absolutely terrified but was obviously trying to keep his face cold as he the fingers around his neck tightened. "Maybe if you kept a closer eye on your _merchandise _I wouldn't even have to touch it." He slammed Sai to the ground, making him cough from the impact, rolling to his side and weakly getting onto his knees.

The raven slowly stood up but was immediately forced back down by Madara's foot in between his shoulder blades. Danzo, again, tried to grab the enraged Uchiha. But Kyuubi moved, his hands reaching out for Danzo and pushing him back as he hovered by Madara's side, his glaring blue eyes illuminated by the dim light and his rage. He had to let his anger pump through his veins so he could quiet his conscience about what was happening. If Madara thought this was best, he had no evidence to argue back.

"I have what you need!" Sai yelled out and Madara's foot slackened. He pulled back, sneering down at the body beneath him.

"You better, little boy. Otherwise I'll be forced to do something a little more drastic." Madara's smile seemed too severe, too evil to be real. Kyuubi had to swallow a shudder.

Sai got back onto his feet slowly, even with a little bit of Danzo's help, but he shoved the man away. He turned towards Danzo's computer, fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. "How did you get my password?" Danzo's voice was sharp, seething through his teeth with rage. Sai remained silent, nursing his side. He wiped the blood off his lip as he glared at Madara.

"Sasuke stopped by a while ago, seemed upset. I did some digging on his behalf." Sai said as he turned the computer screen towards Madara. "About a week ago, Orochimaru bought some property by the docks. Some old warehouse, if I had to guess." Sai hit a button on the keyboard and Danzo's printer came to life. "I was going to send you this, tomorrow, after I had personally surveyed the place. But seeing as though you're pretty pissed off, I'm assuming Orochimaru already got the drop on you."

Madara's face softened as Sai handed him the paper. "You better not be fucking with me, kid."

Sai laughed. "I have nothing to lose, Madara. But I'm still afraid of something happening to me. That one day I too will be looking down the barrel of a gun. Yet I have nothing to live for and it is only my selfish plea to live…Does that make me pathetic?" Sai was smiling up at the Uchiha, the paper folding over itself in his hand. Madara snatched it out of his hand, lips trembling as he watched Sai's face. "Please leave now. I'm going to be punished."

Danzo was standing in the corner, fists shaking as Kyuubi turned heading out the door first. Madara stood in the room a moment longer, grabbing his jacket off the floor and following the red head out. Madara lingered long enough in the hallway to see Danzo gripping the back of Sai's head, slamming it forward into the desk.  
>-<p>

The wood creaked under his feet as he walked up to the door. It had been a long time for Itachi since he had been at his childhood home. And even know, as he stood by the door, he didn't exactly know why he was here. Closure? He had gotten none of it. No tearful apologies from his father. No final statements about how important Itachi was to him. But, even Itachi knew, they would all be lies. Fugaku had never gotten over what he had failed to do that night. He would have never forgiven Itachi, even if he had dropped Sasuke onto their doorstep. That was just how his father was, and would always be, especially in his memories.

Itachi bent over, frowning to see that old key to the house was still under the potted plant, almost as if his father assumed one day he would come back. His heart clenched in his chest. He slid it into the door and unlocked it without a problem. This surprised Itachi, but only a little. He had assumed in his father's paranoia, he would have gotten the locks changed. The Uchiha sighed as he entered through the door, not bothering to make sure it closed. He hadn't planned on being here long.

Itachi frowned at the state of disarray the house had fallen into. He found it very strange. His father had always been a neat man, even in the days after his mother's suicide. If he had come home to the house like this, he would have thrown a fit…

There were tables knocked over and dirt at the door, having been tracked in by someone's shoes. Itachi frowned. Something didn't seem right. It could be true that his father had stopped caring. He hadn't been home in years…but somehow he doubted it.

The Uchiha bit his bottom lip, moving around cautiously as he got into the kitchen. Everything in that room looked in order. He continued to move forwards, smelling something from the adjacent laundry room. It stank of bleach throughout the small hallway and Itachi's eyes narrowed.

There was a bottle of bleach laying on its side in the laundry room, obviously some of the contents was spilled all over the floor. The cap must have launched off on impact. The Uchiha sighed. He didn't understand why he was getting so worked up. The coroner ruled that his father's death was an accident. There was no reason to think otherwise. Car accidents happened at random all the time.

Itachi would have never noticed it if he hadn't lingered. His head turned after seeing a spot of red by the bottom of the washing machine. His jaw tightened as he bent over, looking down at the droplets. There were two, just sitting there. Even if the police had done an investigation of this place, this would have probably never been found. It was too obscured.

The Uchiha rolled his bottom lip between his front teeth. He opened the lid of the washing machine, looking at the contents inside. Mildewing clothes were sitting in the bottom, releasing a musty scent. It looked like Fugaku had forgotten all about them…But Itachi knew better. The washer was the reason why the bleach was empty.

He couldn't fight the feeling…His father had been murdered. He had been set-up for some reason. For what reason, Itachi couldn't be sure. But he could feel his assumption was correct.

But murder didn't happen randomly, especially a murder like his father's. Someone must have done something to cause the car to crash or explode. Itachi grit his teeth. His father must have known something; probably stumbled upon it by accident.

Itachi slammed the lid of the washer down. He had a good idea of where he should start looking. He walked out of the laundry room and headed towards the stairs to his father's room.  
>-<p>

Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed looking up at Orochimaru and Kabuto. He didn't want to do anything they told him to, but he couldn't just resist now. Orochimaru still had that gun and he wouldn't be able to out fight both him and Kabuto, as much as he wanted to do so. It would put himself and Naruto in too much danger if he lashed out now. He took a deep breath, not letting the sob building up in his throat escape.

"Strip." Orochimaru's voice was harsh. He wanted this to start quickly but Sasuke still felt hesitant. Naruto was sitting up now, at least, looking somewhat alive. He was going to have to watch whatever Orochimaru planned on doing to him. He hoped he would shut his eyes.

Sasuke got to his feet, slowly, pulling off his jacket and tossing it away. His hands were shaking when he grabbed for the bottom of his shirt. He felt so vulnerable under Orochimaru's yellowed eyes. He was watching Sasuke's every movement, as if he was savoring every single detail. He threw his shirt down, standing solidly for a second as he regained his composure. Orochimaru chuckled, coming forward and wrapping an arm around the raven's hip. He could feel the snake's hands all over his skin, touching his stomach before tracing upwards towards his nipple. "Such clever modification…Very well thought out, Sasuke." The hiss of Orochimaru's voice made Sasuke's back twitch with disgust. "Come on, continue."

Sasuke bit down on his lip, reaching for the top button of his pants. He looked past Orochimaru as he pulled his belt free. He could hear the soft sobbing of Naruto behind him. He obviously was having a hard time looking at this. He would have an even harder time watching when Orochimaru finally fucked him.

The wall was the only thing he could focus on.

It didn't make him feel disgusting.

His hands were shaking as he started to pull down his pants. He could feel the eyes on him, watching, waiting, anticipating his movements. Orochimaru was already tracing his body into his memory. He had already seen him mostly nude but it was the build-up, Sasuke knew, Orochimaru actually wanted.

When it was over and he was standing there, completely naked, he couldn't look at anything around him. Sasuke's eyes were transfixed on the walls as Orochimaru's hands slowly touched him. He couldn't force himself to get aroused. He knew that Orochimaru wanted his body to respond. But the touches were too foreign, too sloppy, too full of force. They were nothing like Itachi's hands, they weren't warm or comforting. They weren't touches of gently laced desire.

"Sasuke…" The voice in his ear made him shiver with disgust as he slowly turned his head towards the man. "I want a show."

Sasuke clenched his eyes shut, teeth grinding. "W-what do you want to see?"

The raven lost his balance slightly when a balled up fist made contact with his cheek. He remained standing as he slowly corrected his stance, shocked by the pain blossoming across his face. The snake looked at him venomously. "Where are your manners?" He grabbed Sasuke's face, squeezing the cheek harshly.

"GET YOUR FLITHY HANDS OFF OF HIM!" Naruto yelled, pulling forward. He practically choked himself with the sudden movement. His leather collar was firmly bolted to the wall behind him, giving him very limited space to move. He coughed, rolling onto his side as he tried to regain his breath.

"Kabuto, control your pet. He is your burden." Kabuto moved quickly. Sasuke wanted so much to grab his arm and just start slamming him around the room. The thought of him touching Naruto made his blood boil. Sasuke snapped when he heard Naruto's whimpering.

"Don't you fucking _touch_ him!" He grabbed Kabuto around the shoulders, pulling him back. But both of them stopped struggling immediately when Orochimaru pulled out his gun, firing a warning shot into the ceiling. Sasuke dropped Kabuto, moving away quickly.

The gray haired man approached Sasuke, obviously annoyed but Orochimaru held up a hand. "No. He gets it." His voice was amused. "Such lengths you're willing to go, just for one person. It warms my heart, Sasuke."

Naruto let out a small whine, obviously frightened by the sudden turn in Orochimaru's mood.

"What do you want to see, master?" Sasuke spat the words, visibly shaking with pent up rage.

"Much better." Orochimaru let out a sadist chuckle; Sasuke twitched where he stood. "Fuck him…"

Sasuke knew who the 'him' referred to. The raven wanted to rip his hair out in fistfuls at the thought. He turned slowly to see Naruto, pulling the sheet off himself. He was already incredibly compliant. And Sasuke could see why just with the simple pull of a sheet. The blond was covered in bruises. They were like a garden of purple flowers against tan skin; deep and dark around his sides, but some were lighter, fading already into yellow by his thighs. Naruto was looking at him, not saying a single word as he spread his legs open. Sasuke had to turn away then, already knowing where the blood on the bed was from.

Sasuke mumbled something, his fists clenching at his sides, nails digging deeply into his palms.

"What was that?" Orochimaru mocked, gently caressing his cheeks. Sasuke reeled away, the back of his knees striking against the mattress. He sat, not knowing what else he could do. He shook his head.

"I can't do it." The raven muttered weakly. He couldn't even look at the blond but he knew that Naruto must have had some form of relief on his face. Even if it would be short-lived. "I can't hurt him…"

Orochimaru clicked his tongue. "Thought you might say something like that." The snake turned towards the table, picking up a small bag from it. He pulled out two pills. Sasuke already knew where this was going. Orochimaru didn't want to waste time. He wanted the action now. And the best way to get it out of either of them was with drugs. Sasuke couldn't hold back a small whimper. "Molly; all the rage. Pure MDMA. Only the best for you."

Sasuke begrudgingly held out his hand. He probably wouldn't have been able to get much better from Danzo himself, but he still felt sick just looking at the small white pills. He wanted to throw them back into Orochimaru's face but with that gun, the snake was infinitely more powerful than any last ditch stunt he could pull. The raven could only stare down at his hand. Keeping himself out of his mind would be the only way he would be able to comply with anything.

Suddenly, Orochimaru handed him a second set of pills. "Don't be greedy; share with Naruto." He made a brief wave of his hand and Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto. His eyes were watery again. Sasuke placed a pill on his tongue, silently hiding his disgust with the taste as he crawled towards the blond.

The kiss was open mouth; tongue on tongue, slipping the pill between them. Sasuke knew that Orochimaru wanted a show, kissing would be only part of it. He may as well enjoy the warmth Naruto would be able to provide for him.

Naruto pried a pill out of Sasuke's hand and they repeated the motions again, only Sasuke swallowed the pill this time. It wasn't as bad as when he first tasted it. Naruto's tongue dulling the bitterness. They kissed longer this time, sucking and biting at each other's lips. Sasuke could feel Naruto's hand in his hair, pulling him closer. Sasuke's reached out, his fingers sliding down Naruto's chest as the kiss deepened. The blond moaned into his mouth softly.

Sasuke pulled back. There were two more pills in his hand. They both looked at them and repeated the motions, pills passing between their lips. Sasuke wondered about the safety about taking two doses but he didn't feel like now was the time to debate drug safety.

"Just keep playing with each other. Soon enough, the drugs will take effect and the real fun will begin." Orochimaru's voice was already husky with lust. Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was completely enwrapped with him. His eyes were focused on the raven, not looking around, just purely engrossed with Sasuke. He was obviously trying to nurse his own hurt by denying the surroundings.

At least they were here together…

To lick each other's wounds.  
>-<p>

"Madara," Kyuubi began, hands shaking as he pulled the bat out of the Uchiha's trunk. "I'm actually a bit nervous."

Sky lights darkened as the sun finally fell completely over the horizon, cloaking the pair in the oncoming darkness of the night. They had rushed to the place Sai had given them. Madara wouldn't admit that his hands were shaking, but not just from the nervousness that chewed at his gut; anger was there too. Orochimaru believed that he could disrespect him; try to hurt Itachi, and him, by proxy. No matter how anxious he was about this place, he wouldn't allow such pettiness stand.

"Kyuubi…" Madara looked at the red head. "I'm sorry for involving you. I hope one day you'll forgive me for what you'll see today."

Kyuubi was silent as he swung the bat a couple times, getting used to the aluminum in his hands. He let it swing down, coming to rest at his side. "I've already forgiven you."

Madara nodded, pulling the gun from its holster and turning off the safety. "Orochimaru probably thinks he has all the time in the world before I would find him. I doubt there will be any proper security for this shithole. But rats always run to safety in the sewers, so we'll need to be on guard." Madara looked at the Uzumaki then, smiling. "I will not let this sham continue any farther…Even if I die here today, I won't let Orochimaru have either of them. Let's go."  
>-<p>

Sasuke felt warm; his entire body tingling wherever Naruto touched him. It just felt good. Time was ticking by so quickly but it felt like forever every single time he went down for another kiss, smearing his lips all over Naruto's skin, savoring the taste of his sweat. They'd been doing more than just kissing; there had been a lot of petting and touching, bringing them both to full arousal. And even then, they were getting more and more sloppy with their need, letting it show on their faces, in their actions. They actually started to prepare each other at the same time, causing a chorus of low moans to fill the room. Naruto was surprisingly responsive to Sasuke's touches.

Even though both of them knew what would happen after they finished with each other. They knew that them having sex was only the beginning of what Orochimaru wanted from them. Sasuke and Naruto focused on each other though, making sure they both had at least one orgasm before continuing to do anything else. They hadn't fucked yet, which Sasuke could tell, both Orochimaru and Kabuto were getting impatient about. It was hard to enjoy the appetizer when it hadn't arrived at the table yet.

But even still, Sasuke had enough sense to know that he couldn't penetrate Naruto. Not after what had already happened to him. He was high enough to ignore the two other sets of eyes on them and enjoy the pleasure but he couldn't ignore Naruto and the suffering he already endured.

The raven reached behind him, grabbing the blond's wrist and pulling his fingers out slowly. He didn't know how long it had been since the blond had started to deeply touch him but now it was enough. He had made up his mind. This was about as ready as he could be for their first, real sexual encounter.

Naruto sat up, adjusting himself and Sasuke, who was practically in the blond's lap. He cradled the raven's lower back with his knees to support him. Sasuke spread his legs, moving forwards and pushing his hands up the blond's chest as he pressed Naruto against his entrance. Sasuke panted; Naruto was burying his head against the raven's chest as he sat up farther, flushing his arousal right into Sasuke's sensitive hole. Sasuke couldn't hold back his moan.

"Sasuke, it's okay." He muttered against the muscled chest. "If you don't want me to penetrate you, I'll be fine. If it's you, I'll definitely be okay…"

"No." He whispered it into the mop of blond hair. "Let me do this for you."

He grabbed onto Naruto's face as he slowly started to lower himself on the blond's erection, stretching himself at an even pace, never breaking eye contact. "Hey…" Naruto had shut his eyes but the blue oceans sprung open when he heard Sasuke's voice. "We're not here, right? We're alone in my room. Just you and just me. Us, together. Just like you wanted…Right?" Naruto threw his head back when he was fully inside of Sasuke. He was biting his lip, blood springing from the abused skin. Sasuke leaned forward, sucking and licking the wound. He shut his own eyes as he started to move, trying to find an even, good pace to match Naruto's impatient thrusting.

Sasuke moaned. Naruto's movements were enough for him to forget about this. The shittiest situation they could have been in. As long as he wasn't alone, he could bear it. As long as he was with Naruto, it would be okay. He wrapped an arm around Naruto's back, pulling him even closer as they messily moved together. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." Sasuke couldn't hold back his tears, letting them fall into the mess of blond hair.

"Don't do that…" Naruto muttered. "Please don't cry…"

Both of them stopped when they heard the door kicked in. Sasuke pulled back, falling off of Naruto's lap as he whipped around, eyes still streaming with tears. Madara burst into the room, firing two shots so quickly that Orochimaru didn't even have time to pull out his own gun. The snake dropped down to the ground, holding his profusely bleeding shoulder. Kabuto stared at the scene, too stricken with fear to move. Kyuubi moved in then, his bat bouncing off the floor as he walked. Before he got to Kabuto, he paused looking down at Orochimaru. The man looked up at the ominous red head before the bat came down hard across his back. He let out a harsh groan as Kyuubi continue to bring the bat down, over and over again, anger reading so heavily in his expression that Madara had to step in. He put his hand on the red head's shoulder.

Kyuubi panted softly as he turned his attention towards Kabuto again. He moved slowly, snarling as he did so. Naruto was watching his brother as Kabuto let out a scream, smashing the bat down on the side of his head. Sasuke's expression was horrified, his brows raised, his nose scrunched. He was shaking. Naruto was still holding him but they were right next to where Kabuto was being beaten to a bloody pulp by the older Uzumaki.

Sasuke had to turn away, detangling himself from Naruto completely. He stood up, making Madara come farther into the room, practically running over to the smaller raven. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke, eyes still streaming with tears of fear and relief. He dug his fingers into Madara's jacket, sobbing loudly. He couldn't believe it. He didn't even think he would have seen Madara again. He was just so happy.

"Oh God, Sasuke." Madara was kissing his scalp, holding him with such firmness, with reassurance. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" The older man was doting over him, making sure to check the boy for bruises and cuts as he did so. But he couldn't keep it up for long before he pulled Sasuke into another hug, letting him cry.

"I didn't think you would come…" Sasuke was muffled by him burying his face into the material of Madara's shirt. The Uchiha felt such a pain in his chest. He wouldn't let Sasuke go, especially not now.

"Shhh. I'm here, baby. It's going to be okay." Madara felt even more anger in his blood when he saw the bed. There was blood all over the bottom sheet, Naruto was still secured to the headboard. The blood was undoubtedly from the blond. Madara's fists clenched.

He pulled Sasuke off of him as he walked back over to Orochimaru, who was only barely conscious. He picked up the man by his hair, pulling him from the floor. "You think you can hurt Uchiha blood? You think this is some kind of fucking game? Well, guess what? You. Fucking. Lose." Madara slammed him back down, Orochimaru's head bouncing off the concrete. Madara shot him once, making sure the bullet went through his brainstem. Sasuke jumped at the loudness of the gunshot. And felt nausea as even more blacken blood came pouring out of Orochimaru. The Uchiha wrapped the smaller raven in his jacket as he walked over to Kyuubi.

The red head was panting harshly. The bat was smeared all over with blood and some of it was on Kyuubi's face and hands. He was sitting down on the bed, taking a break, letting himself calm down. Naruto was sitting up behind him, practically buried in Kyuubi's back. Madara knew the blond was crying too. The Uchiha looked down at Kabuto, noticing that Kyuubi probably killed him with just the beating he had received. He saw the gray haired man's fingers twitching and he didn't hesitate to fire another shot into his skull as well. Kyuubi and Madara were both sprayed with a wave of blood but the red head said nothing as he stood up, fumbling with Naruto's collar. Once Naruto was free, Kyuubi picked him up, leaving the bat lying next to Kabuto's corpse.

Madara lit a cigarette. He walked back over to Sasuke, who was still shaking; he was wiping his eyes on Madara's coat sleeve, looking spectacularly pathetic. Madara petted the raven spikes, pulling the smaller body close to him as he maneuvered over Orochimaru's body and led the boy through the door. "Let's go home."  
>-<p>

**Lesson one: don't fuck with Madara. Lesson two: don't fuck with Madara. Lesson three: call Madara if you dun fucked UP! **

**Naruto: oh, thank God.  
>Sasuke: You said it…<br>Madara: Yes, thank me. You are welcome.  
>Me: I think he meant the traditional kami-sama god…<br>Madara: I see no difference, I was the one who did the work.  
>Kyuubi: And I did nothing?<br>Madara: Correction; I did the hard work.  
>Me: Sure…I guess there will be no convincing him. Either way, this was Hitoko-sama. <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Ugh, I'm so sorry about this. I know, it has been a LONG time. I was like, oh school, blah, no time. But now that I'm on break, there really shouldn't be an excuse. I'm sorry for the long wait for the update. I'm really going to try to update as much as possible before I go back to school. It would be wishful thinking to say I'll have finished this story before 2015…But hopefully, I'll have it done soon. Anyway, regular POV. ENJOY  
>-<strong>

Madara's finger assaulted the 'end call' button, arm still firmly around Sasuke's shoulders. The small raven was practically glued to his side, moving at a steady pace with Madara. Kyuubi was trailing only slightly behind them; they were close enough for Naruto's soft sobs to be heard clearly. Madara frowned, shoving his phone into his pocket. He moved towards his car, opening the passenger door for Sasuke, who slid in without a single word. Kyuubi deposited himself and Naruto in the back while Madara swung around to the trunk, retrieving a blanket and throwing it to Kyuubi as he worked his way into the driver's seat.

Sasuke, once again, pressed into his side, sitting in that awkwardly small space between the driver seat and the passenger. His smaller hand wrapped around Madara's bicep, heading resting on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to lean over and give Sasuke a chaste kiss; his vulnerability making him far too adorable and compliant for his own good. Madara briefly mused that perhaps he should have brought Itachi along just to comfort Sasuke, but the younger Uchiha would have not been able to stomach Madara shooting someone. The Uchiha ran his free hand through Sasuke's hair, gently massaging his scalp with the tips of his fingers. Sasuke's body seemed to turn to jelly, pushing even more weight against Madara's side. The Uchiha glanced down and the little raven's eyes were big, deep, and dark. He frowned, tilting over the back seat and snatching Naruto's face out of the crook of Kyuubi's neck.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Kyuubi was outraged but Madara just wanted to scoff. He was not the person to direct that anger towards.

"Oh, shut up. I'm checking something."

"Naruto and I are high, if that's what you're looking for." Sasuke answered, his voice sounding strained his throat. "I couldn't…_We c_ouldn't…"

"Enough, Sasuke, enough. We don' have to talk about that now." Madara hushed him by petting through his hair again. "Tell me, what did Orochimaru give you?"

"Pills; something like Molly, I think. I don't really want to remember…" Sasuke's voice sounded small, even in the car. Both Kyuubi and Madara nodded their heads slowly, as if not to startle either of their traumatized treasures.

"I just needed to know how long we're going to need to deal with this. You should be fine by tomorrow morning; though you may not sleep." Madara muttered as he turned on his car, slowly starting to back out of the incognito spot they used upon arrival.

Kyuubi was muttering something softly to Naruto but other than that, the car was completely silent. Sasuke and Madara sat awkwardly huddled in the front, the smaller frame warmly pressed against the Uchiha's side.

Madara jumped slightly when he felt Sasuke's wandering hand on his thigh; a confusing pleasure gnawed at his gut when he looked over at the raven haired boy, eyes wide with arousal. He was smiling; a seductive, smooth grin, gracing his perfectly sculptured face as their eyes met. Madara couldn't form the frown he wanted to put on. As much as he would like to partake in the most delicious of fruit, Itachi would probably shove him out of a window.

It took all of Madara's determination to remove Sasuke's hand from his lap. Which, Madara noted with an annoyingly aroused sigh, started their game of will-power. The Uchiha couldn't act as though Sasuke's actions were affecting him either; Naruto and Kyuubi still were in the car with them. Madara finally knew what it truly meant to be stuck in a rock-hard place…

Sasuke's fingers were slow and obviously trying to draw out long earned frustration from the Uchiha patriarch. And after struggling, for a few minutes, to rid himself of those pesky, wily fingers, Madara gave up; he just surrendered. If Sasuke kept being so persistent about it, then who was he to stop him? Besides, as soon as Madara deposited them all at his house, he would have enough lamps and furniture to keep the little serpent at bay.

The little raven's action got a bit more bold; ramping up the desire spiking in Madara's blood. His heart thumped and he had to bite back a groan when he felt Sasuke's hand start palming him; willing a full erection to start forming. Sasuke seemed pleased, nestling and nearly purring like a kitten about to get a saucer of warm milk.

Madara wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel. Things were starting to slowly get out of his control, which meant, Sasuke was starting to force his will upon him. Madara didn't doubt that this drug fiasco had a lot to do with Sasuke's current…playful condition. And, even if he wished it wasn't so, the nimble, warm fingers pressing into his jeans felt quite good. Sasuke teased him, the harsh fabric making him even more sensitive. Madara twitched, dick straining now. It was getting harder and harder for him to concentrate on the road and not shoving Sasuke's mouth down on his dick.

It was going to be a long drive home.  
>-<p>

"Me casa, su casa, partner." Madara muttered with a wave of his hand. "Kyuubi, you know your way around, take the downstairs guestroom with Naruto." The Uchiha looked around the corner and signaled to one of the overnight maids he had on staff. "Bring them whatever they need for the night. If your services are not required, feel free to take the rest of the night off."

"Of course, Mr. Uchiha." She nodded, ushering Kyuubi and Naruto towards guestroom. The red head nodded his thanks over his shoulder and disappeared into a small, adjacent hallway.

"Aren't you worried they'll say something?" Sasuke asked, pulling Madara's jacket a little tighter around his body.

"Who the maids? Sure, they'll talk among themselves but I pay far too well for any loose-lipped gossip to spill to the press." Madara said in a reassuring tone. "We're safe here, Sasuke. You don't need to worry about it anymore." Sasuke's mouth thinned into a line before he nodded. "Now if you'll follow me this way, I'll show you to your room this evening."

Sasuke followed behind Madara, eyes taking in everything as quickly as he could. Somehow, this was how he pictured Madara's house would look. Huge, extravagant, a completely unnecessary show of his wealth. And just like Sasuke had assumed, it felt cold and lonely, like this place had, at one time, held someone's happiness. It was gone now.

"Itachi used to live here with my brother and me." Madara commented suddenly, as though he was suddenly feeling nostalgic. Sasuke brought his attention to a head, trying with some difficulty to focus. The drugs in his system made his vision a little blurry, almost rose-tinted, as if it was trying to drown out all other feelings but happiness. His hands shook at his sides, fingers twitching; he couldn't make himself stop. "Those were better days. Days when things weren't so…Complicated, I suppose."

"Madara, I'm sorry about your brother."

The Uchiha paused in the landing after the stairs, looking back at the smaller raven, a few stairs down from him. In this position, he loomed over Sasuke, looking down with swelteringly dark eyes. "That, Sasuke, was a very long time ago. Izuna's suicide is not something I like to speak about, understandably. However, I appreciate your condolences in any case. Dwelling in the darkness, tiny temptress, only seeks to ruin us." Sasuke didn't say anything more as Madara stopped in front of a door, opening it quickly. "Here you go. This used to be Itachi's room. If you're lucky, you might find something embarrassing from his past and taunt him with it later."

"Not everyone is as conniving as you, Madara."

"There's a reason I'm number one, Sasuke." Madara's smirk was wide. "Goodnight, beloved _son_. I'll be retiring for the evening; it has been a long day."

Sasuke nodded and stepped into the room, feeling the decay of time pressing at the walls. It was like a still-life picture of someone's room, somewhere they that inhabited and slept, but lacked the person who used to occupy those walls. Sasuke walked in a little deeper, apprehension filling him, as though he was invading Itachi's privacy; he'd already done that once.

On the nightstand near the bed, Sasuke noticed a photograph, framed simply in black. Itachi, in the photo, couldn't have been more than fifteen. Madara was smiling, his arm around another man's neck. There was a somewhat distraught look in his eye but he didn't let it show on his face, faking a very large, toothy smile. If Sasuke had only given it a glance, he would have said everyone in the photo was happy. He could only surmise that the man next to Madara was his brother, Izuna. They looked similar enough to be called brothers; longer black hair, equally dark eyes, but he was of a smaller stature and frame. He was beautiful and Sasuke couldn't help but feel that Izuna looked a bit like himself.

He turned away from the picture, feeling a small sense of dread filling him. This house held so much pain, and Madara was swimming in it still. He hadn't bothered to change anything in the room after Itachi had left. Sasuke shivered at the thought.

He had to get out of this room…

And he could think of a certain_ father_ who may very well let him take refuge in his bed.  
>-<p>

Madara stood in the shower, letting the warm water work on the tense muscles of his back. Today went far differently than he planned when he had gotten Suigetsu's phone call. He supposed he should have known better, that Orochimaru would hit them hard as soon as he got his chance to do so. But, whether by fortune or dumb luck, everything had worked out. He stared down at the water streaming down his body, seeing it was slightly pink. He reached up to his scalp and touched it. It came away clean and he could only assume that he had accumulated more blood from Orochimaru and Kabuto than he originally thought. He sighed.

Turning off the water, he reached out from behind the curtain and grabbed a towel. He dried off quickly, wrapping the fluffy, slightly damp cloth around his waist as he stepped back into the bedroom, steam billowing out behind him. He walked towards his walk-in closet, switching on the light, and rummaging through the drawers.

The Uchiha tensed when he heard the door to his bedroom opening. He knew it would only be one of two people in the house with him: Kyuubi or Sasuke. His maids knew not to disturb him this late. But just from the tentativeness of the door's creaking, it had to be the little raven. If Kyuubi wanted to come inside, he would have let his presence be known immediately.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't sneak up on people when they're obscured." Madara stepped out of his closet, walking towards the door, a gentle frown marring his usually calm features. There was a terse silence before the door was fully opened. Madara could only stare with rapt attention as a completely nude Sasuke stepped into the room with him, closing the door quickly behind him. He had took a few steps back to keep Sasuke at a distance, but Sasuke was quick to close it. He wrapped his arms around Madara's neck. "What are you doing?"

The way Sasuke was leaning into the embrace left no way for Madara to escape the very clear look he was getting of the raven's firm backside. "Nothing really." Came the glib reply from Madara's attachment.

The Uchiha frowned. "Sasuke, please don't tell me you intend to continue our business from the car."

Big, beautiful, dark eyes looked up at Madara. There was a slightly concerned look on Sasuke's face, and he looked away, only but for a moment. "Am I wrong to assume you want me?"

He was being baited; Madara knew. The little temptress was trying to get him to admit there was an attraction, an obvious one, especially on Madara's end. Sasuke was practically perfect. He had a face graced with serene beauty, a body lean with muscle and sculpted slimness, and the way his eyes looked at Madara, with both precocious innocence of a child, and the lurking danger of predatory instinct…How could Madara not want to make love to a man like that?

Madara chuckled softly in the back of his throat. "Don't try to play with me little boy, you'll lose."

"I'm being serious." Came Sasuke's reply.

"No, you're not. You're high. Now, be off with you." Madara's tone was dismissive, but light. He was actually trying to persuade Sasuke to leave; he and Sasuke would only make a huge mistake tonight. Whether or not Madara's groin acknowledged that was the real problem, however.

Sasuke disentangled himself from the Uchiha, eyes looking disappointed. Madara had to turn his head away as to not betray his desire and resolve. He wouldn't touch Sasuke in such a vulnerable state, the poor boy had enough to deal with; Sasuke taking a lascivious dive into pleasure would not ease his conscience. "You saved me, Madara…Let me have this night to make it up to you." That comment surprised Madara, who looked down at Sasuke again. His face was flushed from the admittance and he eyes were cast downward. He reached out, cupping the smaller boy's face with tender fingers, bringing their eye line together. Madara scanned Sasuke's face, eyes searching intently. "You didn't have to do anything that you did, Madara…I'm thankful to you; you came through for me."

"You're kidding, right? Sasuke, I would have never left you there."

"Madara, we both know you only do what you want. You could have left me there with him, you didn't."

"Oh sure, and Itachi_ wouldn't_ have horribly murdered me upon finding out I did nothing to help you."

Sasuke's raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're not afraid of Itachi."

"Hn, sometimes. He's unpredictable with matters like these, but I digress. We will not be sleeping together tonight Sasuke, and that's final."

"Madara, I don't think you und-"

"Oh, no, no, no, child, I don't think _you_ understand." Madara cut Sasuke off, scolding him slightly. He wiggled his finger in the smaller raven's face, a smirk coming over his features. "Sasuke, you are not mine to freely have; you belong to my lovely Itachi."

"I'm willing to keep this from him if you are."

For the second time during this conversation, Madara was stunned by the comments leaving Sasuke's mouth. He blinked slowly, looking into his face again. It was getting harder for him to say 'no'. Madara shook his head, desire and doubt starting to cloud against his better judgment. He really shouldn't indulge in his own desires for such an adorable creature, but there was his animalistic urge to do so. He wanted to pin Sasuke down and wrap the boy in the most carnal and devious of pleasures. Show him plenty of things Itachi probably didn't know, or was too cowardly to attempt.

"Sasuke, look at me." The boy's eyes were bright with hope that his seduction was going according to plan. "You're high right now and I can't take advantage of your sudden interest in me. It wouldn't be right."

Sasuke frowned and shook his head. "I know what I'm doing and saying, Madara. I won't accuse you of anything later. You're not taking advantage of me. I want to _thank you_, Madara, that's all I want. I understand perfectly well what I'm offering to you and I want you to take it; take _me_."

The smaller raven walked back towards Madara's bed, placing one of his palms flat and turning his back so he could look back at the man standing across from him, a dumbfounded look on his face. Sasuke used his free hand to part his cheeks, giving Madara a full view of that puckered rose bud. Any and all control he had snapped as he watched Sasuke swirl his fingers teasingly against it, shoving the tip of his middle finger inside. His gorgeous face was flushed with both arousal and embarrassment. "Naruto only barely got to fuck me here; do you want to finish what he started?"

Sasuke couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise when he felt Madara grab his wrist, pulling his finger out and slamming back onto the mattress with his other hand. The raven arched when those two hands found his ass and started to aggressively massaging it. Sasuke moaned with both appreciation and pleasure.

"Now, now, if you're going to serve yourself up to me on a silver platter, let me enjoy it. Can't let you have all the fun of foreplay, now can I?" And with that, Sasuke felt Madara's long hair caress down his back, stopping at the dip. He was already panting with anticipation as Madara chuckled, warm air swirling around Sasuke's entrance.  
>-<p>

Itachi knew this case would never be labeled as a murder. Even the most skilled and excellent police officer would never think otherwise, given the evidence outside the house. Since the crime scene was not in the house either, no one would ever think to check, to see what had happened before the accident. He had talked to the coroner after identifying his father's body. Car accident, high blood-alcohol level; cause of death was simple to determine.

This, however, did not persuade Itachi at all. Not after the blood he found. He knew something had happened to his father. He had been purposefully been assassinated. By who, Itachi wasn't sure yet. But the evidence seemed to suggest his father had been taken by force out of his home. And the car accident would easily cover up any injuries his father had received during a drunken struggle. Itachi frowned.

Maybe he would have made a better police officer, like his father had suggested.

Itachi opened the first door on the left, knowing it was his father's room. He hadn't changed it at all since Itachi had moved out. Anxiety filled him as he opened the door, not knowing what to expect. His heart was hammering against his ribs as he took his first few steps inside. He let out a sigh, rubbing the crease between his eyes as he got a good look inside the room. Just as he expected, the room was full of his obsession.

On the wall by the bed were countless pictures of Sasuke, Madara, and a single one of his entire family. Itachi hadn't thought there were any left. He clearly remembered, in the days before his mother's suicide, her clipping out every single picture of Sasuke from the limited amount of family photos they had accumulated. Itachi could taste the sense of dread which had filled him, watching the meticulous nature in which she had done it.

There were yarn connecting the pictures together. And obviously from the placement, Fugaku did not at all believe Madara was Sasuke's father. Then from the stalker-like way Sasuke's pictures had been cut and lain over other photos, of course it would seem as though there was a pattern between them. But the longer and longer Itachi stared at the photos, he began to see the patterns himself.

A phone started to vibrate loudly on the wooden floor, breaking Itachi's focus. He blinked, turning towards his father's bed, looking under it. Sure enough, the phone was vibrating beneath it, lighting up and moving across the floor. He grabbed it, wondering if this was one of his father's throw-away phones used for emergencies and illegal activities. But he realized something about it immediately. The language on the phone wasn't Japanese. If he had to guess, from the characters, it looked like Chinese. Not that he could read it.

Itachi bit the inside of his lip. Any country's mafia could easily slip into its neighbor and set up shop, but Itachi wondered why Chinese thugs would be hired for this kind of job. A connection with the Yakuza would solve the problem just as easily, and be without the language barrier.

Either way, Itachi had made a decisions. Whatever had happened to his father, it hadn't be an accident. This was a hired killing. He knew his father couldn't speak Chinese and did not have the capacity to learn it. He didn't even bother trying to learn English when he had the chance.

Itachi's face sunk slightly as the realization donned on him.

Whoever had killed his father had to have spoken Chinese, and they had to have a good reason to hurt Itachi's family; there was no random killing sense about the scene and the execution. Itachi could really only think of one person who would be that vindictive and worldly enough.

He had to take a deep breath to steady himself, letting himself calm down.

However, Itachi knew, Orochimaru would pay dearly for his mistake. The Uchiha family may have quarantined Fugaku like an infected finger, but that didn't mean they were ready to amputate him. Itachi slipped the phone into his back pocket, grabbing his own from his jacket. He would need to make a few calls to track Orochimaru down, but when he found the snake, he was going to make Itachi a very nice, new pair of shoes.

The Uchiha turned, taking one last look at the wall beside his father's bed and paused in the doorway of the room. He walked back to the bed, looking at the pillows; he found nothing useful. He went to Fugaku's bathroom, grabbing his hair brush from the counter. Itachi knew he was being foolish now, but with everything he had just seen and pieced together, maybe it was better to follow a fool's trail then to stumble around in the dark.

Itachi left the room.  
>-<p>

As soon as Itachi stepped into the door of his own home, the compulsion was almost too strong to bear. In the back of his mind this urge had been scraping his skull since his father's last visit. But, all his father had said had been conjecture. False conjecture, at that. Sasuke wasn't the missing son of the Uchiha family, he was just a whore sold to be a personal companion and pet.

Between Madara and Itachi, he would like to think that the two of them would be able to spot fellow family blood.

He rushed up the stairs, despite himself.

Now, Itachi really knew he was being foolish. But there was something strong compelling him to do this. He walked into the bathroom Sasuke used and grabbed his brush, pulling out some of the hairs from the bristles. He put them into a bag and sighed. He was stooping to his father's level, making conjecture out of nothing. But he supposed, this way, he could finally give his father a proper send off by proving him wrong.

The Uchiha heavily trudged down the stairs, hitting himself. Of course, Itachi knew, Sasuke wasn't his brother. If Sasuke was actually his brother, he'd be able to tell right away. Besides all that, though, Itachi prided himself in thinking that he wasn't as obsessive over the matter as he used to be. This was all for Fugaku, so his spirit, if it was still wandering around, would definitely rest when the matter was finally given a true answer.

Itachi stepped through the door, dialing a number. Madara had become quite close with a facility that specialized heavily in genetic testing. Madara had more than his fair share of heir scares in his day. Sasuke was the only time Madara had ever fake the actual results. And Itachi knew they wouldn't botch these results either.

As he made his request, sounding as innocent as possible, he noticed his hands were shaking. It took all of Itachi's concentration to keep himself steady as he walked out the door. Fear and anxiety were fraying his nerves to the point where anything could send him into a panic frenzy. The ball was winding tighter and tighter in his gut as he thought more and more, letting doubt start to paint his certainty.

The Uchiha knew, as soon as this matter was settled and he had the paper in his hands, that his heart would stop thundering so heavily in his chest. If he knew the truth, that was all that mattered. But even with his resolve settled, Itachi felt somewhat faint at the idea of Sasuke actually being his little brother. He felt sick with excitement but also just sick.

He slammed his car down shut and shoved the keys into the ignition, pulling out his driveway slowly.  
>-<p>

Madara stumbled down the stairs, feeling somewhat groggy. He had spent more time than he thought possible satisfying his lusts with Sasuke. They had continued to fuck until the sun started rising and the small raven could no longer physically continue. Madara had been somewhat bummed that Sasuke had been able to go longer but he wasn't one to complain; he felt quite glorious at his abilities as a lover.

He walked into the kitchen, his maids greeting him as he passed. But one of them flagged him down, a note in her hand. She had a mug of coffee in the other which Madara knew he would need more than anything right now. She smiled, bowing slightly as she held out the scrap of paper and the mug. "Thank you…"

He flipped the paper open, noticing the simplistic and masculine scrawl of Kyuubi's handwriting:

"_Madara, _

_Thank you for all your help last night. Naruto and I have decided that keeping the truth from our parents is the best thing we can do right now. But I will tell them, just to get the heat off of you, the same lie you told Itachi. Naruto is still really quiet but hopefully he'll start talking to me soon. Can't say when, but I definitely won't be leaving home any time soon. _

_Anyway, just, thanks I guess.  
>Kyuu" <em>

Madara smiled into his mug, shaking his head slightly. He was glad things had turned out for the better in this case. He had been around for a long time and this kind of situation could have went south in an instant. Madara could only thank Suigetsu's quick thinking and then his own. If Madara had been less savvy and more panicked, Naruto and Sasuke would have been gone, lost to the world. He hadn't known what else Orochimaru could have been planning for the two of them, but Madara doubted it would be something good.

The Uchiha sat down at his kitchen table, setting his coffee down and running a hand through his hair. He really hoped this would be the last of it; the last of everything. He was getting too old to handle this as he was. He would be sixty in the next few years, and he didn't know how intimidating he would be. Madara bit down on his bottom lip; he would have to think about retiring soon as well. Itachi and Sasuke would be good enough to handle to burden of his company. And then he could just live out his life as he saw fit. It would be nice.

He heard someone clearing their throat behind him and the Uchiha turned, seeing Sasuke walk into the kitchen, coughing a bit. He smiled, a little sheepishly at Madara. The Uchiha smirked, like the cat who ate the canary. Sasuke took a seat at the table with Madara, looking a little less than spectacular. His eyes had heavy bags and he carried himself with the obvious air of exhaustion, but other than that, Sasuke looked exactly how he should. Sculpted with beauty and grace.

"Good morning, my dearest love." Madara said, tone gliding the line between seductive and amused. The little raven tried to suppress a smile as he caught Madara's eyes, which were shining with delight.

"And a good morning to you."

Madara took a large gulp of his coffee. "Sasuke, last night, I just have to say, was wonderful. You really surprised me."

"I think you may have surprised me more. I wouldn't think a man as old as you would have so much stamina." Madara would have sent Sasuke a dirty glare, but the boy's face was slightly flushed, still feeling somewhat embarrassed about their triste. He couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm glad you accepted my token of appreciation."

"I feel like 'accepted' implies I had a choice in the matter. You played dirty. If anything you tricked me."

"'Tricked' has the connotation that you didn't enjoy it."

Madara smirked, chuckling to himself. "Well, I won't say that I hated it." The older Uchiha's attention was pulled away by one of his maids entering the room, a phone in hand. She bowed as he took the receiver. "Uchiha Madara, the most dangerous and sexiest man alive."

The only person who called his house phone was Itachi, and the older Uchiha knew this would only push his darling nephew's buttons. He wanted to smirk but Itachi's tone and the desperation of his voice alone was enough for Madara's mood to just drop. He let out a long sigh, rubbing the area between his eyes as he snuck a look at Sasuke. "Yeah, I figured. Don't worry, Sasuke and I will be coming over soon. We're just gunna have breakfast and we'll be there…I'll tell you everything when we get there. Oh and by the way, just so you have enough time to get over it, I lied."  
>-<p>

Itachi was fuming when Madara and Sasuke finally entered the house. It wasn't the fact that Madara had lied. No, he had been dealing with Madara lying to him for years. But, this, was different. He thought that the period where Madara kept secrets like this was over. The trust he had built with his Uncle was being shattered again. Itachi hated this. And he knew Madara was only doing it 'to protect' him. Itachi ground his teeth as Madara casually sat down on the arm chair in the living room, reclining back and smiling softly. "Itachi, before we get into why you're angry with me, tell me what you wanted to say on the phone."

Itachi hated that too. Madara was the master of deflection, but the Uchiha had known for a very long time that Madara knew exactly how to manipulate him. He sighed, sitting down on the couch next to Sasuke, rolling his eyes. "Fugaku's death wasn't accidental. He was murdered."

Madara's face was a stone mask as he leaned forward. "What?"

"I went by the old house, just to see if I wanted to get anything before it was stripped and sold. I found blood and a cell phone in Chinese. Father cannot speak Chinese, nor would he bother learning it. And there's only one person I can think of that speaks that language, has a grudge against the Uchiha family, and has those kinds of connections. Orochimaru." Sasuke jumped at the name, looking at the hardened anger of Itachi's profile. He had never seen Itachi look so serious.

"Well, call off your man-hunt, love. Orochimaru is dead." Madara said with a shrug.

Itachi's face was stern, not revealing his shock. His eyes narrowed. "Why do I feel as though this pertains to the fact you lied to me?"

"Sasuke, shall I tell Itachi or shall you?" The raven's eyes widened at Madara, but he bit his bottom lip and nodded. "Good, my child. Tell your master what has happened."

Sasuke's voice was quiet as he recounted the entire story to Itachi; the kidnapping of Naruto, his own abduction, the rapes, and then the eventual murders of both Kabuto and Orochimaru. Madara piped in a few times to add his own details, like why he told Kyuubi and decided to lie to Itachi. The younger Uchiha didn't seem to understand the logic behind it, but nodded anyway. Itachi's hands, in his lap, were clenching and unclenching as Sasuke continued, trying to keep it vague enough to where Itachi wouldn't break. The Uchiha said, looking over at the small raven beside him, and pulled him into a strong hug. Sasuke blinked, feeling the strong, comforting arms around him. Tears, he didn't know he had been holding back, sprung from his eyes.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay…" Itachi's voice was soft as it was muttered into Sasuke's scalp. His grip became tight, squeezing Sasuke roughly as he continued to hold the smaller raven. Madara stood up, wiping invisible lint from his pants.

"Well, now that we've got this all sorted out. I'll leave you two alone for a bit." He sounded somewhat amused as he headed towards the door, giving the two of them a dismissive wave. "If you need anything, just call me."

Itachi didn't acknowledge Madara's words nor his uncle closing the door behind him. The Uchiha was completely wrapped in Sasuke. Itachi had almost lost him and he hadn't even known it. Madara always tried to protect him, hide things from him, but this would have been something Itachi wouldn't have been able to miss. Sasuke had become a very important part of his life. If he had disappeared without a trace, and Madara had hid it from him…Itachi didn't know what he would have done.

He definitely would have killed Madara.

He didn't doubt it.  
>-<p>

**So, from my estimations of this story; there should only be about three more chapters before its over. Yeah, let that one sink in. I mean like it might not be exactly three (but its plus two, minus one, range) Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. HAPPY HOLIDAYS :D**


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